


What I Crave

by GemNika



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Haphephobia, Insecurity, Masturbation, Partner Betrayal, Past Violence, Pregnancy, Silent Comfort, Slow Burn, Vegetarian Cobra, sugar addiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 07:17:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 35,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16445288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemNika/pseuds/GemNika
Summary: They hardly knew each other when he helped her. As time passes, Lucy comes to realize that maybe Cobra was the one she craved all along. A man who understands her, doesn't push, and really does have a heart under it all. Will her insecurity push him away, or does he crave her just as much?





	1. Crave Your Silence

 

" _It's not my fault you could never get me off."_

The words of Fairy Tail's Celestial mage burned in the back of Cobra's mind. He knew for a fact that she'd been married for three years, and that her divorce with Gray had ripped her team apart. The Ice Make mage had left the guild, claiming he just needed to be away from them. Apparently, all that time he'd sworn that Juvia didn't do a thing for him was just some really fucked up foreplay.

And for some reason, it had been Cobra, Fairy Tail's newest member (and officially recognized by the Magic Council as  _not_ a fucking criminal anymore, thank you very much), that had told Lucy just what was happening behind her back.

He hadn't been able to explain it. Why it mattered. Why he even cared enough to point it out. Except maybe it was that sad little music box in her soul with a warbling, off-key tune that belonged in a damn horror movie, that made him pity her. And Cobra didn't pity people. Ever.

Pity required giving a modicum of shits, and he had none to give.

But he'd still dragged her to the training grounds on his first day in the fucking building, right after getting his guild mark on his hip from Laxus, and laid it all out for her.

"Your husband's cheating on you with…" He paused, listening to Gray's soul and matching it with the Water Woman in the building who even  _thought_  in third fucking person. "Juvia."

"Yeah, right," Lucy snorted. "Real funny, Cobra."

"I'm not lying to you."

"Look, I'm glad you've helped take out dark guilds with Crime Sorciere," she sighed, running a hand through her hair. "And you've more than proven that you're an ally we can trust, so I have no problems with you joining the guild."

"I know that," he said. She missed the flash of guilt in his single eye as he remembered just how much pain he'd caused  _her_  so long ago.

"But I  _also_  know that, even though you're not trying to kill people anymore, you're a prankster."

"Says fucking  _who_?" he snarled.

"Natsu and the Glitter Bombs of X794," she frowned. "That was  _my_  apartment you confettied with that bullshit. And I know it was you because you sat in the window and took pictures."

"... Shut up." Okay, so maybe he'd wanted to ruin the Fire Slayer's day two years ago. And glitter had been on sale at the store.

"The point is, Gray's not cheating on me. He wouldn't do that."

Lucy tried to walk away from him that day, scowling and not wanting to believe him. She'd been so sure that he was just lying to her.

Except then Cobra heard something else, and he shot forward, setting a hand over her mouth and dragging her backwards under the bleachers. She kicked and struggled in his grasp even harder when the doors to the guild opened. "Don't believe me?" he whispered in her ear. "Look who we have here."

Gray and Juvia dashed outside, their hands clasped together and both mages looking one way and another to make sure no one could see them. Gray paused and brushed his lips against the Water mage's, then pulled her along, grinning at the bright flush on her cheeks. They ran across the clearing, sticking to the shadows when they could, and Lucy could hear Juvia's laughter once they'd made it into the treeline of the nearby forest.

The fight in her died, her limbs falling heavily at her sides. There were no tears on her lashes though, just wide, disbelieving eyes and her mouth pressed into a thin line once his hand pulled away.

He'd come to realize that Lucy was a bit of an enigma at times. Her soul tended to go deathly quiet before bellowing with enough force to blow out even Zeref's cursed eardrums with her rage. So, Cobra had opted for self-preservation when her heard the music box decrescendo in her soul, and he took a large step back from her.

"Why do you care?" she asked him, still looking at the forest her husband had run to.

"I don't," he said.

"Then why would you tell me?"

"Seems kinda fucked up," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring at the worn leather of his boots, "Here you are, giving him everything, and he's off fucking someone else."

"Well, if you're saying it's fucked up, then it must be," Lucy said.

Her words cut him to the quick as she walked away. Just that one sentence, when he shouldn't have fucking  _cared_  in the slightest, made him feel like a piece of shit. Like he was lower than Gray, the cheating fuck. But maybe that's what the issue was. Cobra hated cheaters with a passion. He hated liars. People who couldn't just be honest were fucking pathetic. He may have been evil at one point - okay, so for a large chunk of his life - but he'd never fucking  _lied_  about it. He was brutally honest. Always had been.

Lucy paused with her back still facing the Poison Slayer. "Cobra?"

His head tilted to one side, a slow grin curling his lips when he heard her soul again. "Oh, you can count on me," he chuckled. "Two minutes, tops."

"You stay inside."

He snorted, leaving the blonde beneath the bleachers as he walked into the guild once again. Like he was going to put his ass on the line and let people know he'd  _helped_  her figure out Gray was cheating on her. "Mira," he said, stopping at the bar.

"Yes, Cobra?"

"Lucy asked me to tell you, she needs a camera," he said with a wicked grin. "She's under the bleachers."

"Oh my god, did you kill her?" Mira laughed. "That's what murderers say."

"No, she's very much alive," he chuckled. "And I think you're going to… enjoy… helping her out with something."

It wasn't until a few hours later that Mira came back inside, dragging Gray and Juvia by the ears while they clutched their clothes to their chests. Lucy came forward from her seat at the bar, holding the pictures she'd secretly taken in her hands.

"What the hell, Ice Prick?" Natsu shouted, standing at a table across the guild with his hands aflame.

"L-Lucy, it's not what it looks like," Gray said quickly as their guildmates stared in shock at Juvia trying to pull the rest of her clothes back on.

"Oh," Lucy smiled. She picked one picture and shoved it into his mouth as soon as it opened for him to speak, pushing back so he choked on the glossy paper. "Are you sure, Gray? Because these  _pictures_  look like you were fucking someone that wasn't your wife."

Gray spit the picture out, unwadding it and staring in horror at the image. "Wh-What?"

"This one too," Lucy said, turning another toward Juvia. "But, you can have him." She turned back to Gray. "I want a divorce."

Gray watched as she tossed the pictures on the floor and started to leave the guild, and Cobra lifted a brow when he heard the Ice Make mage's suddenly angry thoughts just before they came spilling out of his mouth.

"Yeah, well at least Juvia's not an uptight bitch, Lucy!"

The blonde paused, her soul going quiet again. She didn't look at Gray over her shoulder, didn't spare him any extra energy or attention. "It's not my fault you could never get me off," she said. That was it. Once the words were out, she was walking toward the door again, cutting through the still, silent guild.

And that had been months ago.

Now, as Cobra sat in his apartment, glaring a hole in the ceiling and thinking about what Lucy had said, it made him curious. Gray really must have just been  _that_  bad at sex. But, if that was the case, then why had he heard the smallest ripple of insecurity in Lucy when she'd said it? Maybe it was something else entirely. He knew for a fact that he had no issues getting Juvia off - the thoughts from the guy about her squirting every time she came were fucking disgusting. Cobra really didn't want to hear that shit.

Either way, it's not like it was any of his damn business. And he really didn't even  _care_  all that much. He was just bored.

Her divorce was finalized, and the blonde was dragged out and about through town to clubs and bars and pubs by every woman in Fairy Tail, all of them telling her to just get out there and find a new man. Preferably, as Cana had put it, one who could actually make her cum.

He'd listened to her lamenting for weeks as she was pulled, unwillingly, past his apartment building on an almost nightly basis. Just like she was doing that night, still a block away with Cana and Erza tag-teaming her and not letting her wriggle free of their hold.

She apparently had no interest in going to a strip club doing some ridiculous  _Magic Mike Homage_. Cobra didn't blame her on that one. It sounded stupid as hell.

Just the same, he walked over to the window and opened it wide, settling himself in the cushioned window seat - he was sucker for window seats, he'd come to realize - and resting his chin in his palm, the elbow sitting on the sill. And then he waited. One benefit of being on the second floor was that he could see her coming a little more easily. And she wouldn't be aware of him watching her unless he made his presence known.

Which he did every single time she was dragged past his apartment. Just to really lay it on that she was  _so lucky_  to have such  _caring friends_. She glared at him every time he did it, and it only made him laugh.

His grin stayed in place, a malicious little curl to his lips, when he saw the trio getting closer. And once they got to the far edge of his apartment building he paused to take in how Lucy looked all dressed up. He wasn't blind. The woman was beautiful. She'd aged a little more in the past couple years, losing a little of that youthful pudge in her cheeks. Her body was the same, but she just looked more like a woman than a teenager trying to  _be_  a woman.

His lips parted, more than ready to call out to his guildmates hanging all over Lucy to keep her moving. And then he heard something completely different from the blonde. How uncomfortable she was really wasn't anything new. It was more the  _reason_  she was uncomfortable that caught his attention.

' _Is it so bad that I don't want to be touched?! God, just let GO already!'_

And Cobra, for all he'd enjoyed teasing the blonde in the time he'd been a part of Fairy Tail - okay, even before then, when he and Crime Sorciere had stopped by on occasion - understood that better than most people.

His smile faded and he took in the grimace pulling at her lips, the nervous twitch between her brows. And then he heard a little more. Past the fact that Cana and Erza had their arms draped across her waist and shoulders. It stemmed from the fact that they'd dressed her in the first place. And that both women had been a little on the grabby side. Her breasts, her ass, her legs. It all made Lucy insanely uncomfortable, not because they were women and she wasn't attracted to them. Simply because she didn't want  _anyone_ touching her there.

They were nearly below his window when he finally called out to the trio, all the humor having left his face. "Hey!"

"Hey, Cobra!" Cana called out, pulling the others to a stop. "Come on out with us. We're gonna get Lucy laid!"

' _I don't want to get laid! God, it was a chore just sleeping with Gray!'_

Now that was just sad. Flashes of memories from the blonde came rushing through her soul. Of her and Gray on their wedding night and how weird it had been to lose her virginity when he was so clearly enjoying himself. The times he'd teased her with sensual touches and how she'd moaned and been only  _slightly_  aroused by it but never really got into it even though she loved him. That she was sexually attracted to him, but he'd just never made her lose herself in ecstasy like so many others talked about.

"No," he said with a roll of his eye. "And I'm pretty sure she's not all that interested in it either."

Cana laughed, shaking her head. "Sure she is! Lu needs some good dick so she can get off!"

' _My fingers do it just fine!'_

"Yes," Erza said with a firm nod, "Lucy needs to get out and forget about… him."

' _I wasn't even thinking about him until you guys showed up and shoved my failed marriage down my throat!'_

Cobra met Lucy's gaze, his eye softening with understanding. She just wanted to be left alone, not to mope or mourn her relationship - because even he could tell that she was over it - but because Lucy just wasn't interested in it anymore.

"Come on, Lucy," Erza said, tightening her hold on the blonde's shoulders. "Let's have a great time tonight."

They started to walk away, then his lips pursed with anger. He hid it easily and called out to the women one more time. "Lucy, come spend some time with me."

They stopped, all three turning to stare at him with matching shocked expressions. "Wh-What?" the blonde whispered, knowing he heard by the small smirk he sent her way.

"Come on," he crooned, his hand sliding from beneath his chin to beckon her closer. "I've got candy."

"Now you sound like a rapist," Cana snorted. "Come get in my van, kiddies!"

Cobra grinned when the women started dragging her away again. "Well, my offer stands," he called out. "Candy and sweatpants. It's a fucking blast!" He didn't miss the embarrassed flush on her cheeks just before she turned away from him and let the women drag her away, or the confusion fluttering in her soul about why he would be interested in spending time with her in the first place.

He wasn't, really. He just didn't like the thought of her being forced to do something when she was so clearly against it. When he  _knew_  she'd voiced her opinion only to have it ignored.

He sat at the window for another few minutes before closing it and returning to his couch. He laid back down, sent his gaze toward the ceiling, then reached over to the table to grab a fun-sized chocolate bar. He really hadn't been lying about the candy.

* * *

Lucy blinked in surprise as Laki and Mira dragged her down the street toward a club, staring up at Cobra as he watched them from his window.

"Come spend some time with me," he said with a smirk, taking a bite of bright purple taffy. "It'll be better than anything they've got planned for you."

"No, thank you, Cobra," Mira smiled back. She didn't know that he'd done it every time Lucy passed his apartment against her will, and had been for the past month, ever since that first night he'd really listened to her soul. "We're going to enjoy a girl's night."

"I was talking to Lucy," he called back. "My offer still stands!"

* * *

He really enjoyed the way Lucy blushed while pulling away from Bisca and Levy to catch the fun-sized Butterfinger he tossed down to her. "I promise, it's not poisoned," he chuckled.

"Why are you throwing Lucy candy?" Levy asked, smiling and shaking her head.

"Because she wants something sweet," he shrugged, never looking away from the blonde who fought to hide her smile. Four months, he'd been inviting her over to get her away from her friends who were "trying to help" and she'd yet to accept the invitation.

He watched her lift the flap to open the candy as they walked away, smiling when he heard her soul sputter at the message he'd written on the underside.

" _I understand."_

What he wanted to write, that he understood wanting to be alone and her aversion to touch and so much more, wouldn't fit on that small candy. He'd need a king size for that, and that… He wasn't throwing a conspicuous fucking king-sized candy bar out the window just for her to read a note.

When Lucy turned to look at him over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed and her brow pinched with curiosity, Cobra simply smiled at her and took another bite of his Snickers.

* * *

Lucy bit her lip while staring at the candy wrapper she'd gotten two months before.

" _I understand."_

She'd been taken past Cobra's apartment seven more times since then, and he was always sitting at the window, watching her, and eating fucking candy. He sure had one hell of a sweet tooth. But it was yet another day that she was going to get dragged out of her cozy apartment, and she dreaded it even more when she thought about just what day it was.

Valentine's Day.

It was supposed to be a day of romance and love, and all she could think about was that it was two days after the one year anniversary of her finding out Gray was cheating on her.

All the single women in the guild were going out together. But Lucy didn't want to be with them. She wanted to stay  _away_ from them for a change. So, the blonde did what she really knew she shouldn't be doing. She packed her duffel with a sports bra, sweatpants, spare panties and a tank top. Her travel bag of toiletries, just in case. Then three bags of Valentine's candy she hadn't been able to justify buying the day before.

She heard them as they came up the stairs, and Lucy bit her lip while slinging the strap over her shoulder. Her boots were already on, her keys in place at her hip.

There was a knock at her door and Lucy ignored it in favor of shimmying out of her window and hopping down to the street below. She could hear Erza unlocking the door and didn't waste any time.

Lucy ran down the street as quickly as she could, not wanting to be caught and forced to endure another night of men leering at her, dancing with people she had no interest in but didn't have the heart to turn down.

She saw his window was open, and found herself laughing as Cobra's head popped out and she saw the white stick of a lollipop disappearing behind his suddenly grinning lips. "What number?" she panted.

"No time," he chuckled. "Grab that whip of yours and I'll pull you up."

"Wh-What?!"

"Do you wanna get caught?"

Lucy stopped beneath the window, staring up at his seemingly bored indigo eye. Her hand drifted toward her hip when she heard her name being called from down the street, a feminine voice searching for her. She activated the whip, sending the watery blue weapon up to Cobra's outstretched hand.

"Hold on tight," he said. At Lucy's nod, hearing she was ready as she gripped the whip, he pulled and pulled until she was scrambling in through the window. Her feet disappeared inside just as he heard Erza jogging down the street.

"Cobra!" the redhead shouted, standing beneath his window.

He stuck his head back out, still sucking on his cherry lollipop. "What do you want?" he scowled.

"Have you seen Lucy? Or heard where she was going?"

"Maybe she took a job," he shrugged. "I'm not her damn keeper."

"Mira said she didn't sign Lucy out for any jobs today. Neither did Kinana or Master. She's missing!"

"Maybe she's out of town."

"We would have known-"

"Y'know," he smirked, "I think I heard her earlier. Going to the train station. Something about how she needed to buy some flowers."

"Where was she going?" Erza demanded with a frown.

"Her parents' graves." He didn't react in the slightest when Lucy punched him in the thigh from where she was crouching on the floor, even if his leg  _did_  go numb for a few seconds. "I'm guessing you guys acting like all she's good for is her pussy made her feel like she needed to see them or something."

"W-We would  _never_ -"

"Take her out all the time even though she yelled about not wanting to do it?" Cobra smirked when Erza's lips clamped shut, then he shrugged again. "Maybe I'm wrong. I don't really care either way, but I haven't seen her."

Ah, what a lovely contradiction. Cobra detested liars, yet he was willingly lying for the blonde curled up and hiding in his apartment.

"Well," Erza began, pausing when Cobra spoke again.

"Or maybe Lucy's in my apartment right now," he said, his smile widening when the blonde squeaked and grabbed his pant leg, silently screeching at him to shut up. "She could have finally taken me up on that offer of candy and sweatpants."

"Right," Erza said, her brow lifting. "I will go tell the others that Lucy won't be joining us tonight."

She believed his first story much more than the blonde wanting to actually spend time with him, and that was fine by him. Cobra watched her walk away, grinning to himself. He may have started out lying, but he'd remedied it. And Erza was none the wiser. So, he simply leaned back inside and closed the window, then the drapes.

"What the hell?" Lucy hissed. "What if she'd believed you?"

He scoffed and stood from the window seat, staring down at her. "You've been ignoring me for months," he said. "Why the hell would anyone believe you'd want to actually spend time with me?"

Guilt rippled its way across her features and her eyes lowered to the floor.

"I'm not offended," he chuckled. "I actually don't care." He ignored her while making his way back toward the couch, then plopped down with a soft, contented sigh. When she didn't move, he said, "Go and get comfy. I wasn't kidding about the sweatpants."

"Why?"

"Because it's a requirement," he said. Cobra's head lolled to one side so he could see her and he gestured to himself. "If I'm home, I'm comfortable."

Lucy slowly stood, still clutching her duffel, then looked around the apartment.

"Bathroom," he said, pointing to a door behind the couch, then to another door just beside it. "Bedroom." To the folding door across from the couch, "Laundry." Then to the archway near his front door, "Kitchen. Change wherever you want."

"Why would I change in the kitchen?" she giggled.

"Because you're a damn freak," he said, his eye crinkling with mirth when she laughed again.

"Thanks for this, Cobra." Lucy made her way toward the bedroom, biting her lip while opening the door. She paused in the doorway and looked back to the Poison Slayer, to his maroon spikes and the single pointed ear she could see, then silently smiled when he leaned forward and grabbed a piece of candy from the large bowl on his coffee table. "Really, I appreciate it."

"I understand."

* * *

Over the next year, Lucy made a point of sneaking over to Cobra's apartment every time she knew their guildmates were going to try and drag her out somewhere. She still took jobs with Natsu and Happy. Erza had partnered with Wendy after Gray left, but they all occasionally went on missions as a large team.

She never invited Cobra along though, already knowing that he preferred solo work.

But she always enjoyed her time with him. Their secret meetings, eating too much candy which eventually turned into cakes and pies, then whole dinners with dessert afterwards.

At first, it was weird. She didn't know what to do with herself at his apartment that first night. He didn't have a television, which she thought was strange until he explained that he could hardly hear it over the souls around him at any given time so he could never enjoy it.

He had plenty of books though. Some she hadn't read, others that looked like textbooks, and quite a few she had. They didn't really talk about the books either, aside from her asking if she could read one. He'd told her he didn't mind, just as long as she didn't dog-ear the pages.

He didn't talk much. They ate in silence. And, oddly enough, Lucy found it wasn't uncomfortable. She didn't  _need_  to chatter away to fill the silence broken up by the crunch of wrappers. She rather enjoyed how he seemed so calm and it filled the space around them with ease.

And Lucy came to appreciate, sometimes even crave, the silence of Cobra's apartment when she sat in the middle of the guild full of noise and so much yelling. Fairy Tail was anything but quiet, after all.

The times she couldn't get away from her friends, when they ambushed her by surprise, Lucy silently pleaded with Cobra to figure out a way for her to get out of it the entire time she was being pushed and pulled while getting ready. They would go by his apartment, and he would sit in the window seat, watching her go by, with the same offer every time that she could join him.

She learned a few things about him during that year though, more than she ever would have if she hadn't spent any time with him.

He slept alone, never offering to share the bed with her when she inadvertently stayed the night, but he also refused to let her sleep on the couch. Or the floor. She slept in his bed, and he slept on the couch. Sometimes, he slept in the window seat. He never explained why he insisted she take his bed.

Cobra never tried to touch her. For anything. If Lucy was in his way, he told her to move. If she was reaching into the bowl for more candy, he waited until her hand was clear before grabbing his own piece. They never sat right next to each other on the couch, normally with him on one end and her on the other with an entire cushion between them.

She found out that Cobra liked sweets, a lot. And that he was a vegetarian. The first time they ate dinner together, it was eggplant lasagna. And when she'd asked why eggplant, he simply said, "I don't like the taste of meat." She never asked why, but she did know that he didn't mind her eating meat around him. When she came over one night and cooked spaghetti for them, and made meatballs for herself on the side, he'd simply bypassed them while dishing up his plate and thanked her for cooking the sauce in a separate pan so he could still have some.

Cobra didn't celebrate holidays. He didn't decorate his apartment for Halloween, and the only reason he handed out candy that year was because Lucy brought the extra gift bags for kids from her apartment and left them outside of his door. The bowl was empty by the end of the night. Christmas was the same with no decorations; and he'd made sure she knew not to try and buy him a present or do any "ridiculous bullshit."

What surprised her the most, however, was that Cobra didn't go to the doctor for anything. He didn't ask Wendy to help him if he was injured from a mission. The night Lucy came over with a cake - she'd found out when leaving the first time, which apartment he lived in and used the door from then on - she'd found the door unlocked as though he'd been waiting for her. She made her way inside, set the cake in the kitchen, then turned to see Cobra lying on the couch with a grimace, shirtless, and swiping a towel across his bleeding stomach while he stitched the long gash closed.

Lucy, of course, had flipped her shit with worry. He'd told her to shut up and have a seat, or get the hell out. He didn't take any medication, nothing to dull the pain. Once he was done with the stitches - and she noticed that they were perfect as though he was a damn surgeon - Cobra taped some gauze over it and cleaned up as though nothing was wrong. She'd stayed quiet about it, silently worrying about him for the rest of the night and noticing every uncomfortable twitch or shift until she left at three in the morning.

He was surprisingly thoughtful though, she found out. Lucy hadn't been running from the women in the guild for a change, and had simply gone to visit him even though her leg was bandaged from the job she and Natsu had gotten back from earlier that day. Cobra took one look at her and ushered her to the bed, forcing her to lie down and rest when he saw that she was a little pale and in pain. He'd brought the candy bowl into the bedroom and sat beside her the whole night, saying nothing aside from asking if she needed a drink. She'd felt his eye following her when she got up to hobble to the bathroom, but he didn't move to help her.

* * *

Gray returned to Fairy Tail the on the second anniversary of his divorce with Lucy being finalized, the day of one of Magnolia's few parades. March had just begun and the last of the frost clinging to trees had melted when he arrived, his guild mark still in place. She guessed he'd never really  _left_ , just went away for a while. Juvia seemed happy to still be at his side.

Lucy was indifferent, though. She didn't care that he was back. It didn't make her stomach burn with anger or betrayal. He was just another person in the guild now, the same as Reedus or Juvia or Gajeel.

Sadly, only Cobra seemed to know that she didn't care. That she took notice of his presence upon her arrival an hour after him, then shrugged and went on about her day. She wasn't moping while drinking her smoothie, and she didn't turn down the job request Natsu held out to her because she was depressed. In fact, Lucy turned it down because she just didn't want to take a job right then or look like she was hightailing it out of Magnolia since Gray was around.

Mira and Cana, however, started scheming as soon as they noticed that Lucy was staying. And later that night, when they all but kidnapped Lucy from the guild and dragged her to the back, tied her to a chair and got her all dolled up for a night on the town, she finally snapped.

It was one thing to do it because they wanted to have a good time. It was something entirely different when they were making it their mission to get her laid because she was "obviously so miserable without someone" and they "just want to see her happy."

She yelled and screamed and kicked and clawed her way out of their clutches, punching Mira in the throat on accident (really, she hadn't meant to do  _that_ ), then stormed out of the guild with Cana yelling at her back, "We're just trying to help you get out of your rut, Lu!"

Lucy ignored how she looked - with a crimson halter dress and matching fuck-me pumps - and ignored her apartment entirely, seeking the haven that was the Poison Dragon Slayer's home. She knew he was in town, that he was at home even, because Cobra had stopped at the guild to turn in a mission, then left. They hadn't said a word, but he'd looked at her just long enough for Lucy to know that his window would be open, so to speak.

She stormed down the street and didn't let herself feel a thing until she was standing in front of Cobra's door. She didn't have a key though, so she knocked. When he didn't answer, she tried the handle. Just like usual, it was locked. But she'd seen that his window was open and the lights were on inside. Cobra didn't waste electricity. Maybe he was just in the bathroom or something.

But Lucy didn't feel like standing around. She wasn't going to go outside and deal with people gawking at her while she climbed the building and went through the window. So instead, she put the knowledge she'd gained from one of his books to use, and pulled two bobby pins from her hair then went about bending them and carefully picking the stupid lock. It finally clicked, and he still hadn't come to the door, so Lucy went inside and kicked off her shoes.

The living room was empty. The kitchen lights were off. The candy bowl still sat on the coffee table, its permanent home, with an unopened bag inside of it.

Lucy heard a low thud from the bedroom and turned toward the door to find it partially open and dark beyond. She really didn't try to intrude on Cobra's personal space, but when there was no sound after that, Lucy found herself just a little concerned.

She lightly knocked on his bedroom door, waiting for some response, then carefully pushed it open and peeked inside. A quiet whimper drifted through the air, nearly childlike, and her brows drew together while she walked inside.

He was lying on the bed, on top of the blanket, still wearing his clothes from when he'd been out. His jacket and pants, everything. His eye was screwed shut, almost as though he was in pain, and he'd curled in on himself, knees to his chest and arms tucked around his waist.

"Cobra?" Lucy whispered, walking further into the room. "Hey, are you alright?"

When he didn't answer, she moved closer until she was sitting on the edge of the bed. Lucy gasped when she saw the tissue bunched up in his hand, spotted with blood. Then she noticed the little balled up tissues on the floor and the pillow around him, each decorated with splashes of red.

He didn't seem to realize she was there while tossing the tissue to the floor and grabbing another from what she realized was a box that he cradled against his chest. Cobra swiped at the blood dripping from his nose, his eye clenching more tightly for several seconds as another whimper crept up his throat.

Lucy nibbled her lip with indecision, then slowly placed her hand on his. He didn't react when she took the tissue from him and gently blotted away the next little rivulets that crept from his nostrils. With his hand now free, Lucy carefully laced their fingers together while keeping the tissue pressed to his nose. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, sighing in relief when he squeezed right back with equal pressure.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

Lucy barely heard his reply of, "Uh-uh."

"Can you tell me what's wrong?"

Cobra whimpered again, and Lucy frowned when she saw the tissue filling more quickly than before. She switched it for another, still watching him, waiting and hoping for an answer. Slowly, his free hand lifted to his forehead, then to his pointed ear before curling around his stomach again.

"Your head," she frowned. "And your ears?" He shook his head, squeezing her hand a little more tightly with a quiet hiss. She saw him pointing to his chest, his ears, his head again. Realization dawned on her a moment later with the whisper of a memory, one that she hadn't thought much of before.

" _Hearing too many souls at once sucks ass," Cobra said to the blonde around a mouthful of strawberry cheesecake. "Shove a beehive in your skull and it'll still be quieter."_

"Souls?" Lucy finally whispered, sighing when he nodded quickly. "Would it be better if I left?" She really didn't want to leave. Maybe it was selfish, but Lucy didn't want to be alone while thinking about what had happened at the guild. She didn't want anyone knowing where she was. And being at Cobra's… he gave her a place where she could just think and be by herself, while still having someone at least present. It was weird, but she loved it.

And she especially didn't want to leave if he needed help.

But when he didn't give her a response, Lucy decided she needed to think about him. What  _he_  really needed. And that most likely wasn't yet another soul to listen to. She started to let go of his hand, then paused when he held on tighter.

"Please," Cobra whimpered between tightly clenched teeth, "Don't go…"

"Wouldn't it be better if-"

"No…" His eye slowly opened, showing her tears of pain sitting on his lashes. "I don't wanna be alone."

"Well, should I-"

"Don't let go," he said, his single eye pleading as his grip tightened marginally. "Lemme focus on you."

Lucy bit her lip, settling herself more comfortably by his side. She switched the tissue out again, absentmindedly running her thumb over Cobra's as he blinked and watched her. She used another tissue to dry his eye, smiling when his brow furrowed for a moment.

They didn't speak after that. She simply stayed beside him until the pain subsided, holding his hand and keeping his nose from dripping onto the bed for another two hours.

And when Cobra finally found the will to sit up, their hands were still clasped on the bed between them. He gazed at her for several moments, then slowly leaned forward and wrapped an arm around her and laid his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you," he whispered. She could hear the deep gratitude in his quiet voice, unaware of how Cobra smiled when she didn't hug him back but lightly squeezed his hand instead. "You can wear some of my shit tonight, since I don't think you have any spare clothes."

"The dress code still stands, huh?" she smirked.

"Yes, and you're way overdressed."

The two mages changed in separate rooms then met at the couch and started eating candy together. And when Cobra's head started throbbing again, Lucy found him lightly threading his fingers through hers and taking slow, deep breaths.

She found she didn't mind it all that much when he held her hand.

* * *

Four months passed before Lucy felt Cobra's hand against hers again. It was only his fingers, and just long enough for him to press something small into her palm, then it was gone and he went right back to reading his book while she sat down on the couch and got comfortable.

Lucy opened her hand, looking down at what he'd given her, and blinked at the sight of a small silver key.

"Not as special as a spirit," Cobra said, his eye still running across the text on the page. "But happy birthday all the same."

"Is this…"

"No more breaking in with bobby pins," he chuckled. "You can have a key."

Lucy blushed and connected it to her smaller key ring - the one specifically for her own house key and mailbox key - and silently thanked him. She reached toward the box on the table, smiling while she cut two slices of carrot cake and put them on paper plates. She pushed one across the table toward Cobra, then sat back and enjoyed the sweet treat that he'd provided.

Lucy hadn't known that Cobra knew when her birthday was. And she didn't find out for quite some time that he'd baked the cake himself, specifically for her birthday.

* * *

"Cobra, have you seen Luce?"

The Poison Slayer frowned and stuck his head out of his window to see Natsu standing on the ground below his apartment, early morning fog still rolling on the ground at his feet. "Why?"

"She's not at home," he shrugged. "I was gonna see if she wanted to go fishing with me and Happy."

Cobra blinked slowly, then turned a surprised eye toward the blonde when she came to kneel on the window seat beside him, then stuck her head out the window.

"No thanks, Natsu. You know I don't really enjoy fishing," she said with a smile. "You should ask Gray though. You guys used to fish together a lot."

Cobra winced when he heard the confusion in Natsu's soul, but Natsu didn't let on in the slightest. That must have been yet another lie that Gray had told her all those years ago. Instead Natsu just pursed his lips in mock thought.

"Maybe," he said, not sounding convinced. It was no secret that the rivalry between Natsu and Gray had gotten just a little more menacing since the Ice Make mage's cheating was uncovered. Natsu  _really_  didn't like that Lucy had been put through that.

"Or… Oh!" Lucy's smile widened. "I heard Laxus telling Mira yesterday that Gramps is back in town. Why don't you invite him to go along for a nice, relaxing fishing trip?"

"Gramps is back?!"

Lucy nodded happily and waved as Natsu dashed away with a whoop and an extra pep in his step. She turned toward Cobra to find him watching her with some expression she couldn't name. "What?"

"He knew you were here."

"Of course," she shrugged. "If I didn't tell him where I disappear to, he would have just followed me."

"And he has no problem with it?"

"No," Lucy said. "I told him not to bother you about me coming over, and not to let anyone know."

"And his cat?" Cobra smirked.

"I explained to Happy  _why_  I started coming over, to keep the girls off my back." A slow smile curled Lucy's lips. "Turns out, if I cry, Happy kinda turns to mush and agrees to anything."

"Oh, you're fucking evil," Cobra chuckled. He turned when Lucy winked and slid from the seat, walking back toward the bedroom. "Going back to sleep?"

"Maybe." Lucy paused at the door, looking back toward him. "You can come join me though. I don't mind." And then she disappeared into the room.

Cobra frowned and adjusted the blanket he'd been using to keep warm while sleeping by the window. That was definitely a first. But she was sincere in her offer, and there was no pressure from her for him to follow to the room. Unlike the blonde, though, Cobra didn't need multiple invitations to do something he wanted deep down. Just the one was enough.

He could have gone back to sleep at the window, but it wasn't nearly as comfortable as his bed. And not nearly as warm. Slowly, he uncurled from his spot and closed the window, then made his way to the bedroom.

"You came," Lucy whispered, smiling where she was curled up beneath the blanket on one side of the bed.

Cobra said nothing, but pulled back the blanket and crawled into the bed with her. They didn't curl up together or snuggle or anything else as the two mages fell asleep once again. It wasn't until he woke up hours later that Cobra realized they were holding hands beneath the blanket, their fingers loose and intertwined. Lucy slept on, unaware of his content smile and how he held her hand just a little more closely as he drifted off to sleep again.

* * *

"You know what sucks?" Lucy sighed.

"Hm?"

"I'm doomed to never have sex again."

"Why?" Cobra frowned at the Jenga puzzle as Lucy pulled out the center piece on the bottom layer. "Bitch."

She giggled, setting it in the center space on the top. "I only had sex with Gray," she said, "And we all know how that turned out."

"Uh-huh."

"I know he and Juvia have no issues in the bedroom," she said. "The girls talk at the guild."

"I know. Trust me, do I ever fucking know."

She shook her head, searching for the best piece to take during her turn. "Which means it's something wrong with  _me_."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Cobra said. He placed his piece on top. "He probably just wasn't doing it for you."

"Have you ever had that problem?"

"Worse," he smirked, gaining her attention. "I've gone soft during sex. Really  _good_  sex."

"Why?"

"Same reason you don't get off," he shrugged. Lucy stared at him intently, but he wasn't embarrassed by it. They'd spent the better part of two years in each other's company. Down to the day, actually. He'd even made a point of stopping by  _her_  apartment the day before to invite her over properly for Valentine's day. After so much time together, he really didn't have an issue with talking about himself a little now and then. They had just never talked about anything like  _this_  before.

"Which is?"

"You don't like being touched." He waited while she took her turn, both of them pausing to see if the tower would tumble. "I don't want people in my bubble," he continued while deciding which piece to take, "Sex kinda works against that."

"I'd say so," she muttered. "But it's fine when I masturbate…"

"Because it's  _you_  doing it. You know what you like and when to change it up."

"Gray seemed to," she said.

"Not well enough." Cobra frowned, peering around the Jenga pieces to look at Lucy's downcast eyes. "You are aware that some women need more than a little foreplay to get going, right?" Her blush deepened and he blinked slowly, watching her, listening to the way her soul dimmed just a little. "And some just don't like foreplay at all."

"Gray never really got into foreplay," she shrugged. "He did a little, but then it was just sex."

Cobra nodded, returning his attention to the game. "Well, when you're doing it, what do you do?"

"... Really, Cobra?"

"It's not like I'm gonna jerk it over what you tell me," he laughed.

"I don't know," she sighed. The next piece she pulled out had the tower wobbling ominously, and she waited a full breath before it settled and she placed the piece. "I just do it."

"Do you tease yourself?" he asked.

She stared at Cobra when he sat up on his knees and leaned around the side of the tower. "As in…"

"Your tits, stomach, behind your fucking knees," he said, focused on the wood pieces. "Do you rub anything that's not your crotch?"

"No?"

"Do finger yourself or just rub your clit?"

God, he sounded like a doctor or someone asking survey questions. "Usually just my clit," she said, shifting slightly. "Maybe a finger or two."

"Do you talk dirty to yourself?"

"What? No! Dirty talk is just weird. Honestly, I don't know why people think it's sexy."

"Mmkay," he said, sitting back and pulling a piece from the center. He cursed when the pieces clattered to the table, glaring at the blonde when she giggled. "Yeah, yeah. You win again."

"I'm the Jenga Master!"

Cobra chuckled and shook his head while they put the pieces back in the box. "You're a dick is what you are."

"Why's that?"

"Because I can't use your soul against you in this game." He wouldn't admit that he was most likely pouting. "It's not fair."

"Aww, poor Coby-butt," Lucy crooned. "Can't cheat for a change."

"It's not cheating if I'm just using my skills to my advantage," he shot back.

The blonde laughed again, reaching across the table and smiling a little wider when his hand naturally lifted and rested in her palm. "So what about you?" she asked. "Why does sex suck for you?"

"I told you," he said. "I don't like people touching me, in my fucking bubble."

"I'm in your bubble," she countered.

"Yeah, but you know how to touch me." Cobra couldn't stop himself from laughing when Lucy choked at the double meaning. "I mean like this," he said, squeezing her hand.

"Well, I'm just hopeless," she said, rolling her eyes. "No man will ever get me off. It'll just be me and my fingers until I'm dead."

"Well, you've got nice fingers at least," he chuckled.

"Gee, thanks."

It was hours later, after they'd eaten a broccoli and quinoa casserole that Lucy had tried making for dinner when she found a book of vegetarian recipes, that Cobra and Lucy ended up curled up on the couch and drinking steaming mugs of hot cocoa full of marshmallows. Except, instead of being on opposite ends, they were next to each other and Lucy's head rested on his shoulder.

It wasn't often that they had more contact than just their hands, but ever since the new year had begun, both had felt a slight shift in what they were.

"Wanna try an experiment?" Lucy whispered, staring down at the melting marshmallows in her cocoa.

"You sure?" Lucy nodded, and Cobra leaned forward and set his mug on the table as she did the same. "Alright."

"It won't be weird?"

"Might be," he said, smiling when he saw the tension in her shoulders. "It won't change shit though."

"Promise?"

"Yep," he grinned.

Moments later, only after she had turned to fully face him and licked her lips a couple times to get rid of her nerves, Cobra felt her soft lips pressing against his. He felt each unsure tremor running through her, heard how she questioned everything she did, whether he could taste the dinner they'd eaten or if it made her breath stink. Whether he liked it at all, or if he was just humoring her.

His hand lifted and curved around the back of her neck, sifting through her golden hair, and he felt her quiet hum against his lips as he slowly deepened the kiss. Just his lips on hers, moving slowly, taking their time to feel the other out.

And all the while, Lucy's insecurity swelled until Cobra was drawing back to find her timid honey eyes averted.

"U-Um…"

That was her problem, then. He wasn't really sure why he'd never picked up on it, that knotted, gnarled mess in the center of her soul that he could hear so clearly now. But Lucy had one hell of an inferiority complex and that shit worked against her at every turn when it came to being with someone.

"Lucy," Cobra whispered, "Look at me." He waited, no matter how long it took, for her to lift her gaze to his face again. "Tell me something, alright?"

She nodded.

"When you look at me, what do you see?"

"Cobra," she said instantly.

"And what does that mean? Who's  _Cobra_  to you?"

She frowned slightly. "Um… I don't know." Did they really need to define just what they were to each other? That was one of the things she enjoyed about being with him. There wasn't any need for it. They both just understood it and that was all they needed.

"Okay," he chuckled. "Different approach. When you think about me, do you think about the man who tried to kill you?"

"No," she scowled.

"What about the man who was in prison for half his life?"

"No."

"Or do you think about… spending time with me, here, just sitting around and being comfortable together?"

Lucy considered it, then slowly nodded. "And how you're quiet in the best way possible," she added.

"Do you know what I think about with you?" he asked. She shook her head, and his nose gently brushed against hers. "The same thing. That I'm  _comfortable_ with you, that you understand I've got boundaries, and you never push… Even when it's to your detriment."

"Okay?"

"So, if I kiss you now," Cobra said, shifting just a little closer and letting his lips brush against hers, "Will you think about the fact that you make me feel comfortable?"

"Uh… I guess?" She squeaked when he kissed her again, feeling his thumb gently trailing across her jaw.

"You taste so sweet," he whispered against her lips before kissing her once more. Still only his lips on hers. But he could taste her as he lightly nibbled on her lower lip, pulling a quivering whimper from the blonde.

And as they kept kissing, Cobra also heard the faintest sigh in her soul. He could  _feel_  that knotted tangle of insecurity unraveling the tiniest bit from just a single comment. It made him curious about what else would help her be more comfortable in her own skin, even as her trembling tongue brushed across his lips.

She might have been worried, but it didn't stop her from taking the initiative to taste him. He'd given her just a little bit of confidence, and she'd latched onto it as though it was the only thing keeping her breathing.

When they broke for air, he licked his lips and smiled down at her. "Lucy," he whispered, "Don't make me stop kissing you right now."

"Wh-What?" she sputtered. "Why?"

"Because I've got an addictive personality," he chuckled. "Seriously, your mouth tastes like pure fucking sugar."

Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red and her hands fidgeted in her lap. Still, Lucy nodded, nibbling her lip as he reached out and took her hands with his free one.

"You know how much I like sugar," Cobra smirked, drawing her closer.

"I do," she said.

"Just kissing," he whispered. "Just let me taste you." And when Lucy nodded again, though timid and still so unsure of herself, he closed the distance between them and kissed the blonde with not a care in the world aside from tasting the sugar on her lips and tongue. And when her hands shifted to gently toy with his fingers, and she sighed happily into his kiss, Cobra fought back a smile.


	2. Crave Your Touch

 

Cobra had lied to Lucy, and she knew it as soon as she woke up in his bed the morning after they'd kissed. It wasn't a big lie, and it wasn't anything she had an issue with. In fact, Lucy rather liked that he'd lied.

Because Cobra had said that things wouldn't change. He'd promised it would all be the same after they'd kissed. But it wasn't. Maybe it was just her, and maybe she was just overthinking things, but she felt different when looking at him. Maybe it was because she knew how he could kiss now, and even though she'd considered what it might be like before, Lucy had pretty much ruled Cobra out as a potential  _anything_  other than… just who he was to her.

And she still couldn't define it. Whatever was between them was just… them.

But as she looked across the pillows at his sleeping face, feeling his fingers laced with hers beneath the blanket and seeing how much closer he was, only a few inches away from her, Lucy knew things had changed. She just hoped it was for the better. Because the last time she'd felt like this at all, it had been Gray, and he'd been her whole world. She'd loved him with everything she had and it still hadn't been enough for him to stay with her. She hadn't been enough of a woman to keep her husband happy.

Cobra's eye slid open slowly, his fingers gently squeezing hers. Lucy didn't try to plaster on a smile though. He would just hear what she was thinking about anyway. "Is it okay to kiss you good morning?" he whispered, his voice thick with sleep. She still didn't say a word, but smiled all the same when he pulled their hands from beneath the blanket and gently pressed his lips to her knuckles.

"Not what I thought you meant," Lucy whispered back.

"I told you, nothing has to change," he said. "And I meant it."

Which meant, she knew, that even though Cobra had been adamant about kissing her the night before, it wasn't going to happen again. She'd tasted like sugar, and he was an addict. But she didn't always taste that way, and-

"Stop," he frowned. "I meant it doesn't  _have_  to change, unless you want it to." She took a slow breath when his lips grazed her knuckles once again. "We can still do everything we've always done, but…"

"We're… just a little closer now?" she asked. The way he smiled at her then had Lucy fighting to keep one from stretching across her lips. "I'd like that, Cobra."

Lucy squeaked as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. He really did have an addictive personality, it seemed. Once he found something he liked, he hoarded it, kept getting more of it. And that only made Lucy's cheeks flush with embarrassment when she had the fleeting thought that maybe he was growing addicted to kissing  _her_.

"I am," he chuckled.

For the first time since they started sleeping in the same bed, which wasn't every time Lucy stayed over at his apartment, Lucy and Cobra didn't get out of bed right away. They laid together, mostly silent, toying with each other's hands, memorizing calloused fingers and palms and knuckles. Sometimes they would talk, just short bursts of conversation about silly little things. But they were content to just be together, just like they had been before. Just a little closer.

* * *

Lucy sat at the bar, sighing in relief when she took the last bite of her salad - ordered without the chicken that Mira usually put on it. It had been delicious, everything she could have wanted out of spinach leaves and tomatoes with just a little bit of ginger dressing. If only she hadn't had eyes watching her the entire time she'd been eating. That would have been even better.

"I didn't realize you became a vegetarian," Gray said with a frown from his seat a few spots away.

"I'm not," she answered.

"You used to eat chicken on that salad."

Lucy shrugged and took a sip of her water. "Yeah, well tastes change." Gray should know all about things like that. Ugh, just thinking it made her want to punch herself in the vagina. That was beyond petty, and it had been long enough that she shouldn't even be thinking about it any longer.

"Oh, Lucy!" Mira cheered while walking from the back. "Good, you're still here."

"Yep, still here."

"Great, I wanted to ask if you'd be interested in going to Lisanna's bachelorette party. It's tonight and we've been wanting to take you out and have a good time. Like we used to."

The blonde set down her drink, staring at the condensation trickling down the side. "I've already got plans, Mira," she said, smiling softly.

"A date?"

"No." That was an easy answer. It wasn't a date.

"Well, what are you going to be doing?" Mira asked, leaning on the bar. "You know Lisanna would want you there, and if there's some way we could rework things for you-"

"Mira," Lucy sighed. "I appreciate what you're trying to do. Sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I understand that you and the others just want to see me happy. And, according to you guys, I need a man in my life to make that happen." Lucy astutely ignored Gray's more intense stare. "But I don't. It turns out, I just needed a quiet place to think. And I'm happy, I promise. So you don't need to try scheming anymore to get me to go out with you guys just so you can get me laid."

"But Lu," Cana crooned as she sauntered over and draped an arm around Lucy's shoulders, "We know for a fact that you haven't gotten laid since…" Her eyes cut over to Gray for a moment, and she smirked when his jaw dropped. "It's been years. And that's just… God it makes me wanna cry for your snatch."

"Well, my  _snatch_  and I are perfectly content," Lucy sniffed.

"God, you're such a prude sometimes," Cana snickered. "Just go get some ass."

' _I'm not a prude if I know there's just something wrong with me… I could go sleep with someone, but there's no point. Nothing will happen aside from me just being a hole for whoever it is to fuck. I don't want that either.'_

"Wait, you're telling me you haven't…" Gray blinked, shaking his head in confusion. "Since we…" He drew back when an icy glare was sent his way from Lucy out of the corner of her eye. He wasn't sure when she'd learned how to do  _that_.

"What happens in my life stopped being your concern when you fell dick-first into another woman, Gray," Lucy said. She placed some Jewels on the counter, then pried Cana's arm off of her while standing from her stool. "Mira, Cana. I'd appreciate it if you would stop pestering me about this. My opinion's not changing. I've tried yelling and screaming and hiding from you guys, and none of that has worked. So maybe you just need to hear me be levelheaded about it. Just. Stop."

She turned and found Cobra walking toward the bar, a smug smirk on his lips. "So, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

"But where?" Mira asked.

"Lucy here," Cobra said as the blonde stopped beside him, "Is taking a job with me."

"A job?" Cana asked, wide-eyed. "Does Natsu know about this?"

"Yeah," Lucy grinned. "He's the one who showed Cobra the request. So, we're off to guard a confectionery warehouse for a couple nights."

"That's such a strange request," Mira frowned looking at the book. "The reward is-"

"Ten pounds of sweets of each mage's choosing," Lucy and Cobra sighed in unison, their eyes closing and twin serene smiles on their lips.

They ignored the horrified stares of the mages at the bar and made their way out of the guild and toward the train station, each taking in the comfortable mid-April weather. And once they were a block away from the guild, Lucy started giggling over how perfect the job was and ended up making Cobra laugh as well.

They spent the rest of the day walking to the warehouse - having avoided taking the train so Cobra wouldn't get sick - already planning what they were going to choose for their reward and how they were going to split it all up and share it anyway.

* * *

Lucy realized when her birthday rolled around again that she had no idea when Cobra's birthday was. They'd been friends for a little over two years, and she still didn't know something so basic. She'd thought to ask him, but already knew that he would brush it off. He would most likely say it wasn't important and if she knew then she'd be tempted to give him a present, which he didn't want.

So instead, Lucy carefully grabbed his hand as soon as she sat on the couch and pressed something small into his palm. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek with a soft blush and downcast eyes.

He opened his hand, smiling down at the key with cupcake designs on it. "I thought this was  _your_ birthday," he said.

"True, and I know you never come over to my place," she nodded. "But, I just wanted you to know, if you ever  _did_  want to come over, you're welcome."

"Well alright then," he chuckled.

"Also, happy birthday," she grinned. "Whenever it is."

"October 27th." He lifted a small box and handed it to her then went about attaching the overly bright key to his own key ring. "Happy birthday, Lucy."

The blonde stared down at the contents of the box, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. "What the fuck is this?"

"Your very own sleeping mask," he grinned, watching as she lifted the purple mask from the box to read the embroidered  _Feed me chocolate_  across it. "And some stress balls."

Lucy looked down at the box and found herself giggling when she saw two very soft, plush testicles about the size of her hand. She picked it up and gave it a squeeze, then let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Ah, this is perfect. I always find myself so stressed and in need of squeezing testicles."

"I figured," he snorted.

"Thanks, Cobra," she said, smiling at the gifts in her lap. "You're really sweet. Kind of a dork, but mostly sweet."

"It's all the sugar I eat," he answered, reaching toward the table and grabbing a handful of jelly beans, then popping several into his mouth. "It's affecting me…"

"Sexually?"

"You know me so well," he laughed. He leaned toward the blonde and held his hand up, watching as she smiled and parted her lips. "Only the black ones?"

"Uh-huh." Lucy hummed as several jelly beans fell into her mouth. "You know me better," she whispered while chewing the licorice flavored candies.

* * *

Cobra sighed and sipped at his cocoa from his spot at the window, staring at the water beating down on the panes. Lucy had been gone for two weeks on a mission with her old team, the original Team Natsu, at Erza's request. And while it wasn't all that unusual for her to be away for extended periods - the longest had been a month the year before - he'd never been this damn worried about her.

Oh, he had no illusions about what he felt for the blonde. It was most definitely worry. And while he would have vehemently denied any sort of emotion related to her in general in X796, when he'd joined the guild, three years had passed and he could readily admit that he cared about her.

Sometimes, too much.

And he knew she cared about him too, just as much as he did. They were on the same page, both unsure of how to proceed, when to move forward, and wanting to try other physical shit with that underlying worry of whether it'll be too much. But he loved that Lucy was more like him, that she didn't push or try to wrap herself around him all the time. She leaned on him a lot, settling them in half-snuggles, but Cobra found when she started doing it several months prior that he liked her warmth being so close to him.

But now he was alone, waiting for her to come back and hoping that nothing horrible happened on her job. He trusted Natsu to keep an eye out for her. He trusted Erza to a point - Cobra accepted that the redhead could kick some ass when she wanted to. It was the fact that Gray had gone along that he hated. Gray shouldn't have fucking been there. He hadn't earned the  _right_  to be out with Lucy like this, and it wasn't fair to force her to work with the man who'd so completely broken her trust.

' _Cobra! Cobra, open the door! Open up! Luce needs help!'_

His head snapped toward his front door and he shot from his seat when he heard several sets of steps thundering closer. The familiar cadences of their souls set him at ease only slightly. He scrambled from the window seat, ignoring the fact that his favorite mug for cocoa crashed to the floor as he dashed across the living room.

He kept listening for her soul, that fucked up little music box, but he couldn't hear it. And that only made his hands tremble while he flipped the deadbolt and threw the door open. There was no one in the hall though. He listened closer, cursing when he heard that Natsu and the team was still a few blocks away. Cobra didn't care.

He couldn't hear Lucy's soul, but he could hear the worry for her in  _their_  souls. He knew she was with them. Leaving his door open and forgoing shoes, Cobra ran down the hall, the stairs, out into the pouring rain. He paused, letting mother nature beat down on him and taking a deep breath while he listened to the direction they were coming from. He turned right and ran as fast as he could, honing in on the appearance of bright pink hair through the rain as they turned the corner just ahead of him.

It took too long to get to them. To  _her_. But as soon as Cobra stood before the old Team Natsu, seeing their battle-worn expressions in passing, all he could see was Lucy lying in Natsu's arms. All he could hear was the pained rattle in her lungs that proved she was still breathing.

"Fuck," Cobra whimpered. "Hand her over, Salamander."

"What?" Gray sneered, staring as Natsu easily gave Lucy to the Poison Slayer. "Natsu, this is ridiculous. She needs  _Wendy_  not Cobra."

Gleaming green eyes, narrowed and angry, turned toward him. "You don't know what Luce needs, Gray. I'm her partner, and I have been this whole time. And do you know who she told me to take her to if something went wrong on a mission? Cobra."

Cobra ignored them after that, turning on his heel and rushing her back to his apartment. He listened closer with each step, struggling to hear a thing from her soul. Even just a pathetic little warble. Anything to let him know she was still in there.

Once inside, and leaving the door open already knowing the others would follow, he took her to his bed and laid her down. Natsu was the first inside, kicking his sandals off and rushing after Cobra with the others right behind him. "What happened?"

"All I know is that she got poisoned," Natsu said. "We didn't realize it until she met up with us." He came forward and lifted Lucy's shirt to reveal three long gashes with purplish-green bruising branching away from them. But Cobra heard what happened in Natsu's soul, the memory of all of them regrouping and Lucy looking just a little worn down, how she was still smiling as they went back to the town and suddenly collapsed. "Can you help her?"

Cobra nodded, crawling onto the bed to straddle her legs. "Erza, bathroom under the sink, grab my medical kit. Gray, the blanket on the couch and the bowl on the coffee table. Natsu, get in touch with the guild, see if Wendy's available for a consult. She's not coming here in the rain unless we need her."

He ignored everyone as they got to work, barely aware that Happy had settled himself on the pillow by Lucy's head. His fingers prodded at the red, angry flesh of the injury and then the discoloration around it, then he looked up at her closed eyes. "Sorry, Lucy. I know you'll understand the need for it right now," he whispered.

Cobra lowered his lips to her skin, then latched on and began to suck. He had to know what the poison was before he could do anything else. And even though he would have otherwise lost his mind over the fact that Lucy's skin tasted so damn sweet, he couldn't. Not then. He sucked, hard, closing his eye and furrowing his brow while the poison under her skin came flowing between his lips.

It wriggled into his taste buds, pumped through his veins. And just like he knew it would, the lacrima in his body flared to life and created an antivenin so he could absorb it. He pulled back, licking his lips while gulping the last mouthful down, then took a deep steadying breath.

"What are you doing?" Gray asked from the doorway, his voice low and controlled.

"Put that blanket over her," Cobra said. He moved so he was hovering over her lips. Only Happy saw the saddened gaze he sent to the blonde. "She's cold." He waited until Gray was done, pointing to the nightstand before he could ask where the bowl of candy needed to be. Just another minute, and he could help her.

Erza returned with the medical kit, silent but surprised as she watched Cobra's hand lift to brush away the hair plastered to Lucy's face.

Natsu came into the room, his expression grim and Erza's darkened lacrima in his hand. "Wendy's not around. No one's heard from Porlyusica since she left with Gramps a couple months back. I can try Chelia, but…"

"Happy," Cobra whispered, "She might jump. Don't scratch her."

"I won't," the teary-eyed Exceed nodded.

"You should move down though. I don't want you breathing this in." He took another breath, then brought one hand to her cheek and lowered his lips to hers. "It'll be alright, Lucy."

Every mage in the room was silent as crimson gas spilled from Cobra's lips before they sealed over Lucy's. He breathed into her, one long breath filling her lungs to capacity, then pulled back for her to exhale. His hand left her cheek, his eye closing when she whimpered once his fingers met with the gashes on her side. Cobra channeled his magic through his fingers, then his jaw clenched when he forced them into the wounds, past the broken skin and shredded muscle.

Lucy's eyes shot open in an instant, and then she screamed. She writhed against the fire coursing through her as Cobra's magic spread. And still, even though he could see the tears on her lashes, could hear the screeching in her soul, he kept going.

"Hold her down!" Cobra ground out. Erza, Natsu, and Gray rushed to the bed as one, each taking a limb and pinning it to the bed while he settled his full weight on her and fastened his lips onto hers again. Another poisoned breath from him was followed by a pained screech from the blonde.

"This isn't working!" Gray spat.

"Keep going, Cobra," Natsu said, glaring at the Ice Make mage. "I can smell it. The poison's coming out."

His fingers pushed further into her wounds, and he had to force himself to ignore the slick blood dripping down to his knuckles and hand. He couldn't focus on the tears streaming down the sides of her face, or the pain that echoed in his soul from seeing her like this.

For all the pain Cobra had caused Lucy in the past, before they knew each other, this was so much worse. Because every ounce of her agony filled him this time. Her fear sent his head spinning. The other souls in the room faded until he only heard Lucy, but it was louder than ever before and he knew before it happened that this was going to hurt.

Searing heat burst behind his eye, swelling until every bit of space between his pointed ears throbbed.

Happy gasped, staring in horror as thin rivulets of blood trickled down from his nose. "Cobra!"

"I'm fine," he spat. One more breath into her, another powerful burst of magic from his hand, and then he was finished. His fingers withdrew from her injured side and fell limp on the bed while her soul shrieked between his ears. "Damnit, Lucy… Calm down."

"You really expect her to calm down right now?" Gray frowned, struggling to hold her leg in place.

Cobra simply ignored him, just like he ignored the shock on everyone's faces when he sat up and swiped the blood from his hand onto his pants. If he could get his vision to even out, then he would be able to stitch her up. Then she'd be fine. He just… needed a minute. Looking down at her wide eyes, seeing the recognition in them - even though he was currently seeing double - at least had Cobra smiling.

"There you are," he whispered. "Stay still for me, okay? Just a few…" His eye closed when the throbbing in his head worsened. "F-Few stitches… Damn…"

"Cobra," Erza said, pushing him to sit up when he swayed, "What's happening?"

"S-Soul's too loud… Damnit…" He shook off her hold and gazed back down at Lucy, seeing her watching him closely even through her own pain. But she'd heard him, she knew what he needed, especially when her soul quieted down and the others came trickling back in.

But she still needed help, and he knew that the mages around them wouldn't be able to stitch her up nearly as well as he could. Cobra refused to let them even try. The last thing Lucy needed was for them to fuck up and have to go to a doctor, or for it to heal wrong and give her a scar. He might not have minded seeing some scars, but he knew she would mind having them.

"C-Cobra?" Lucy rasped.

"Right here," he smirked, his eye still closed.

"Thank you…" He nodded, slowly opening his eye when he felt her shaking fingers wrap around his hand. He heard it from her soul in that moment, not words or a flash of images, but a single emotion that flared to life the longer they looked at one another, a deep burn in the depths of her being washing through her. A giddy, dance of butterflies fluttering in her chest. And even though she didn't say it, he could see it in her eyes when they crinkled with her smile.

"I'll take care of you, so just relax, okay?"

"Cobra," Erza said, "Maybe we should-"

"I'm fine," he said softly, squeezing Lucy's hand before letting go and sliding down to sit on the blonde's thighs. He went through the motions of cleaning his hands with alcohol pads, then swiping at the gashes on her side, prepping the needle and threading it. "You're welcome to stay," he said, leaning over her and pushing the needle into her skin. "Not much to do though."

"What does Lushy do when she's here?" Happy asked.

"We sit around and eat candy," Cobra smirked.

"Do you talk?"

"Sometimes."

"What do you talk about?"

"Happy," Erza sighed, "That's enough. We should let him focus on Lucy right now."

They started to leave the bedroom, and Cobra paused to look at the dejected blue Exceed. "Happy, I need your help." He perked up at that. "Come hold her hand, okay? Mine are a little full right now."

Happy moved on the bed, placing his paw in Lucy's hand and gently rubbing his face across her knuckles while Cobra worked. He purred when she squeezed, trying his best to soothe her and not noticing when Cobra paused to smile down at him.

Time ticked onward until he tied the last knot and cleaned her up, then taped gauze over her stitches. "Good as new," Cobra chuckled.

Lucy nodded, her eyes honing in on the drying blood on his upper lip. "Cobra…"

"I'm fine," he said once again. Now that he knew Lucy was alright, he was more than fine. And even if it meant that he would have to be a host of some sort while their guildmates were around, he was willing to deal with it. "But, you need to get dry and change," he continued, "So either summon Virgo or I'll have Erza help you."

Lucy blanched and dropped her hand to her keys at her hip, singling out the Maid spirit's from memory.

"You know where I keep my clothes," he said, standing from the bed. "And the candy's right here."

Happy's head tilted to one side when Cobra leaned down and pressed his forehead to Lucy's and their eyes closed.  _'They look like they're gonna kiss…'_

"Make sure you wash your face, okay?"

Cobra sighed when Lucy's lips barely brushed against his, his lips curling into a smile when she ignored the fact that he'd been bleeding because, as her soul put it,  _"I wanna kiss him so fucking hard."_  Who was he to deny her something like that?

Happy's jaw dropped.  _'Oh my god, they KISSED!'_

"Oh shut up," Cobra chuckled, turning and walking out of the room.

* * *

It was late one September night, after her stitches were out, that they stumbled into the blonde's apartment, mouths fastened together and both moaning as their tongues danced. A party at the guild had been the cause of it all. Lucy convinced Cobra to go - since he usually stayed holed up in his apartment - by asking that he make sure she didn't drink too much.

And he had. As soon as Lucy started getting a little tipsy, Cobra snagged the alcohol from her, drank it himself, then handed her a glass of water. Every single time Cana tried to sneak more alcohol to Lucy, he caught it. And when questioned about his odd behavior, Lucy simply said that he was doing her a favor, at her request. She wanted to enjoy herself and not wake up with a hangover.

Cobra kicked the door closed and their lips separated. He could feel her breath feathering over his cheek as she kissed across his jaw, then froze as she whispered against his ear.

"Wanna try an experiment?"

Every time Lucy wanted to move forward, she asked the same question.

When they'd slept in her bed for the first time, and they spent the entire night curled around each other instead of just holding hands beneath the blanket.

When she had wanted him to touch her more intimately, with his hands beneath her shirt and running over the flesh not covered by her bra.

When she wanted to see him shirtless a week prior, to touch  _him_  the way he'd touched her. Cobra's only stipulation was that he be allowed to do the same, with her shirt off and her bra still on. And they'd spent the entire day like that, lying in his bed, touching, caressing, and (of course) eating candy.

This time, however, Lucy wanted something more - more intimate, and much more embarrassing as far as she was concerned. Her reasoning was sound: they were very nearly dating (even though they never called it that), and had been for about seven months, since their first kiss. She wanted him to touch her, at the very least to see her, while she was naked. Well, that was her goal.

And he was a thankful bastard. Whole scores of deities were gaining his silent thanks while he breathed in her scent.

"You sure?" he whispered, looking into her darkened honey eyes. When she nodded, he kissed her once again. "Alright."

She didn't need to say a word after that. They separated and he locked the door and kicked his boots off then went to sit on her bed while Lucy went to the bathroom to get undressed. And to calm her nerves and remind herself that Cobra was comfortable with her, that he'd been so gentle and attentive to her concerns every time they tried something new.

"Cobra?" Lucy called out from behind the closed door. "Would you…"

"Whatever you want, beautiful," he smirked, pulling off his jacket and shirts and tossing them to the floor. She couldn't decide if she wanted him to be naked, if she was ready for that at all, so shirtless he would be.

And maybe it was a little unconventional, but Cobra didn't care. Lucy set the pace. He wasn't normally comfortable with someone touching him at all, but her curiosity while tracing his scars from being in the Tower had made that first day so strange and also strangely perfect.

She loved when he didn't have a shirt on, and he'd spent the better part of the past week without one because the blonde had made him feel like it was okay to do it. Before she'd started coming to his apartment, he'd still kept at least a thermal on, even though he was alone. But being with Lucy had, oh so slowly, changed that.

It was when Lucy walked out of the bathroom in just her silvery satin robe that Cobra found himself breathless. He could hear her fighting (and failing) not to fidget under the stare of his single wide eye, but there was just no helping it. He could see where her nipples had pebbled beneath the fabric, how they sat just a little lower without her bra on. Her slender, trembling legs and pale, creamy skin. How her fingers fiddled with the tie at her waist, unsure of whether she should remove the robe before or after she got onto the bed.

She came closer, pausing once she was in front of him, standing between his spread legs. "S-So, um…"

"Can I?" he whispered, his eye trailing over her once more until he returned to her gently flushed cheeks and wide, nervous eyes. He would understand if she said no, and he wouldn't fault her for it, but Cobra just  _really_  wanted to be the one to take this off of her. His hands lifted to rest over hers on the sash, and she tensed with the realization that  _he_ wanted to bare her body.

Lucy nibbled her lip, then nodded. She shivered when his hands trailed over the robe from her hips and down to her thighs. Slowly, at his gentle insistence, she pulled one leg up onto the bed, then the other so she straddled in his lap. And like this, he could look right into her eyes and kiss her to ease her fears. Their lips met and he deepened the kiss before carefully loosening the sash and letting her robe fall open.

Calloused fingers dipped beneath the fabric, trailing across her quivering stomach and to the small of her back. Higher to her shoulders. He rubbed slow, soothing circles across the spots that he'd already explored before, leaving her sighing happily as her hands rested on his bare shoulders.

"Ready?" he whispered against her lips. She didn't answer, but he didn't need her to. His hands circled around to her ribs, down to her stomach, her hips. As long as he didn't look at her, she was fine. And when his thumbs barely brushed the underside of her breasts and Lucy broke away from his lips and turned her head to the side, Cobra paused. His head lowered to gently kiss just behind her ear, a place he'd only recently found that made Lucy melt and shiver with excitement.

"Slow," Lucy whispered with a grimace. It was weird for her, mostly uncomfortable as his hands slid higher inch by agonizingly slow inch. And before she could say a word, Cobra moved back down to her ribs. He didn't question why she didn't want him touching her nipples, most likely because he heard that they were uncomfortably sensitive.

She didn't shy away from his touch as he moved up once more to gently cup her breasts. He kneaded them, drew slow circles across her flesh, and all the while his lips never left that weak spot behind her ear.

"You feel beautiful," he whispered between kisses. "Just the right size."

"They're not too big?"

"No," he smirked. "I like them."

' _That's because you haven't seen them…'_

"Can I?" She nodded, but he knew she wasn't really ready. She was trying though, trying to let herself be more open with him, to  _just get over it_  according to what her soul was whispering. So, Cobra drifted away from her ear and sat back as his hands circled around her hips.

All Lucy could see were the imperfections. Barely visible stretch marks from when her boobs had grown several sizes at the age of thirteen. How they sagged when not being held in the bra that bit into her shoulders and made her back ache. She hated the pale pink buds of her nipples.

But what she hated made Cobra fight to keep himself from drooling. He didn't care about stretch marks - those were par for the course with a chest this size. And even though she thought her nipples were too large, all he wanted was to have his lips around them, to cover every inch of her body with soft, reverent kisses. And yes, she was right that they were lower than when her bra was on, but it was natural. The gentle slope of her chest had him aching to taste her.

Everything from her collar bones to her navel begged for his touch. And when his eye travelled just a little lower, he smiled at the sight of a pair of deep purple boyshorts covering her sex.

"God, I'm a lucky motherfucker," he rasped.

"Shut up," Lucy muttered.

"I'm serious," he grinned, reaching up to turn her toward his lips again. "You're beautiful, Lucy. So fucking beautiful."

She kissed him desperately after that, the knotted mess in her soul unraveling just a little more as she scooted forward and pressed their bodies flush together. Her arms wound around his shoulders, fingers flattening over the scars on his back. Eventually, Cobra leaned back so she could lie atop him. She didn't writhe or rub herself all over him like a cat in heat, but he was surprised to find her arching into his touch as his fingers smoothed down her back and curved around her thighs.

"Just this?" Lucy whispered, pulling back from his kiss-swollen lips to look into his eye. Cobra smiled when he heard her heart thudding in her chest from something other than anxiety over being exposed like this. Because even without saying it, Lucy knew by the look in his eye that he only wanted her to be comfortable, that he was perfectly fine with the small step they'd taken.

They spent the rest of the night in her bed, simply touching, exploring, with Cobra learning a little more about the blonde by her breathy sighs and short giggles when he happened upon a ticklish spot. And he was more than pleased to find out that kissing her collarbones, even just letting a finger brush over them, was a surefire way to turn her on.

And when Lucy's hands threaded through his hair for the first time, when his kisses had ventured lower than her chin and he lightly nibbled on her collarbone, her nails scraped lightly against his scalp. She learned that there was a way to make the Poison Dragon Slayer actually purr with contentment as he treated her to a long, languid kiss.

* * *

"This is the weirdest one yet," Cobra said, grinning at the pout Lucy sent his way. "I never said I wasn't agreeing to it, but you have no idea how  _unsexy_  this will be."

"Well, we can switch some other time," Lucy said, resting her chin on her knees where they were drawn up to her chest. She watched as he sat up on the bed and pulled his tank top off, tossing the fabric to the floor. "If I wasn't on the rag, I'd do it first."

"I really wouldn't mind," Cobra chuckled. She blanched and drew back, but he just shrugged. "I'm a weirdo, but that doesn't bother me. Really, it's just some blood."

"From my  _vagina_." She scrunched her nose at the thought of her monthly uterine gorehouse. He was officially a fucking goner when she did that. Never in his life had Cobra thought he'd find that single expression so goddamn adorable. But he did with her.

"Because you're not  _pregnant_."

"You have to have sex to get pregnant," she giggled. "Pretty sure I've got the whole abstinence thing down to a science."

"True," he said, leaning toward her and humming into the soft kiss she pressed to his lips. "I don't mind it."

"That's still the weirdest part, you know that right?"

"That I'm not frothing at the mouth at just the thought of sticking my dick in you?" She pictured it. God he loved when she did that. Especially because then he could hear her laugh. That beautiful bell of a laugh that shook her shoulders and tended to double her over. He didn't even care that he'd been going in for another kiss and she'd laughed right into his fucking mouth. "My apologies," he chuckled against her still-smiling lips, "I'll try to froth a little more."

"Please don't. I wanna kiss you, not a St. Bernard."

"That has set my mind at ease." And she did it again, laughed right when he tried to kiss her so his lips met her teeth. And still, Cobra couldn't find it in himself to care. It was weird as hell, but still they were having fun. And if there was one thing he'd learned about having a physical side to this relationship with Lucy, it was that the more she was laughing and  _not_  focusing on every little thing she thought was wrong with her, or what she worried she wasn't doing right, the easier it was for her to enjoy herself.

"It's not too weird, right?" she asked.

"Nah, not too weird. Just different," he said, winding an arm around her waist and letting his fingers trail over her bare flesh. Their candy and sweatpants time had gained a new requirement to the dress code - a tank top or shirtless for him and a sports bra for her. No one ever visited his apartment anyway - which he was so fucking thankful for - so Lucy didn't need to hide how self-conscious she was, and that meant she could get more comfortable. He was a big supporter of being comfortable.

"You can say no, y'know."

"But you wanna watch me jerk off," he grinned. "Why would I say no to that?"

"Because I just want to  _watch_." She'd explained it when he'd stared at her in shock - a first for the Poison Slayer. Lucy was curious. She wanted to know what he liked before even thinking about doing it herself. Of course, she had the errant thought that maybe she just didn't know what she was doing at all (he hated that she still thought about the reasons Gray might have had for cheating on her). Cobra, however, couldn't really say whether she was right though. He didn't know, after all.

But she didn't want to touch him - well, she did but she swore to herself that she wasn't going to, because she remembered him saying he didn't like being touched. Even though she'd gotten well into his personal space several times before, and he'd had no issue with it. And, of course, the blonde had never seen a man masturbate, so she was even more curious about it. It was actually kind of cute.

"You could join me," he offered.

"This shit's a hot mess and off-limits to even  _me_  unless I'm washing or wiping," she said, waving her hand in a vague circle over hips.

"Alright," he laughed. "Your  _shit_  is officially under quarantine for two to three more days, then." He pulled away and laid down, then put his hands behind his head.

Lucy frowned, looking from the pants still covering him back to his face. To his eye that was simply watching her. Man, he really enjoyed the way she'd drink him in every time she saw him shirtless. Her gaze was heavy enough to feel as though she was actually touching his skin. "Um… Shouldn't you be..."

"Well, you didn't tell me how you want me," he smirked.

"H-How I  _want you_?"

"Sure. Should I be hard first or do you want me naked so you can watch me get hard?"

"Uh…"

"Do you want me to  _try_  to be sexy about this, or just do it like I'm all alone?"

"W-Well…"

"Should I moan like a bitch?" The fact that Lucy's face had gone a very unnatural shade of red was more than amusing. Not that Cobra could laugh about it out loud without embarrassing her so much that she just gave up on this idea of hers. He definitely didn't want that. Still, it was interesting to hear her delving further into her inner pervert. Every time he asked a question, she pictured him doing it.

He had no clue why she was internally laughing over the pink petals drifting through her lewd little fantasies. Okay, he did. That was just silly.

"Should I stay quiet?" he asked. "Call you Daddy, maybe?" And then she laughed. Just like he wanted her to. With her laughter, the nervousness that had been coiling in her gut dissipated.

"Just, um… Like you're alone," Lucy said. "However you do it when I'm not here."

"Well, it won't be exactly like when you're not here."

"Why's that?"

He smirked at the confused pinch in her brow. Really, he was tempted to say that he liked to jerk it in the bathroom on all fours in the bathtub just to hear her laugh again. He pulled one hand down from behind his head and brushed his thumb across her pink-tinted cheek. "Because you  _are_  here," he said. "I won't have to picture you. I can just look at you."

Lucy sighed, pulling her knees closer to her chest. "I won't be doing anything interesting," she whispered.

"You don't have to," he said. "Just seeing you can get me hard. Your face, your hair. Hell, if you hold your hand in front of my face, I'll find a way to jerk off to it."

"What the fuck?" she laughed, watching as he shrugged again.

"The real thing's a whole lot better than my imagination, beautiful." And just like he knew she would, Lucy ducked her face behind her knees. Really, the fact that he could make her shy like this was kind of turning him on. "But, if I'm supposed to do the usual…"

Lucy bit her lips when Cobra reached down and, with no preamble whatsoever, hooked his thumbs into his pants and boxers, then pushed them down and kicked them off the bed. She'd yet to see him naked until that moment. And Cobra found that he still enjoyed the way she looked at him, how her eyes shot to his feet, up the length of his legs, skipped over his crotch to look at his chest, stomach, then finally down, following the line of maroon hairs to his genitals.

One hand tucked behind his head once again, Cobra shifted to get more comfortable.

"Now what?"

"Now I have to get a boner," he smirked. "You could help with that." Her lips pursed and he chuckled again. "Just kiss me. Won't take much. It's just hard to get it up when you're staring it down like it owes you fucking money."

Lucy rolled her eyes and uncurled herself to lie down beside him. Usually her arm would wrap around his stomach while they kissed, but she kept herself from touching anything but his lips. Even when he deepened the kiss, his tongue pushing past her lips a little more forcefully than normal, she didn't melt against him.

The same,  _'Don't touch, don't touch'_  mantra repeated in her head.

"Just a little?" he whispered. He grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together, then carefully pulled it up to touch his throat. Once he felt her touch, how she sunk into the kiss a little more, Cobra's nerves lit up. Her lips and tongue alone could get him going, and did more often than not, but he wanted her to feel more like she was the reason it was happening.

She still tasted like sugar. Her tongue was a wicked little temptress as it curled around his. Slender fingers sifted through his hair, and Cobra gasped when her thumb brushed along the shell of his ear.

Lucy squeaked when a low moan vibrated from Cobra, and he nearly pulled her on top of him with the sudden need to feel her in his arms.

"Cobra," she giggled, trying to pull back from the kiss. "Come on-"

"Touch my ear again," he rasped, nipping lightly at her lips while pulling in a shaky breath. "One more time." She did it, just a little hesitant, and he couldn't stop another, louder moan from barreling up his throat as her finger paused at the tip, still touching him, prolonging the buzz that skittered through his flesh and hardened his cock in an instant. "F-Fuck, Lucy…"

She pulled back to look down at him, watching as Cobra's fist rose to his lips. Once he'd spit into it, her gaze followed as it shot down to wrap around his hardened member. He stroked slowly at first, from the base to the tip, spreading his spit over every inch of his shaft. She was mesmerized by the way he carefully worked the foreskin lower - she'd never really seen an uncircumcised penis before - then pushed it back up so the tip was almost covered.

"More sensitive," Cobra whispered, biting his lip as she turned to look into his eye again. "You really wanna watch this?"

She smiled and nodded, her eyes drifting from the pinch in his brow to how he chewed his cheek and bit his lip and the way his breath shortened just a little. Every little hum he made, she soaked in. And when her gaze lowered, Lucy was mesmerized by seeing him alternate between wrapping his hand around himself and giving long, slow strokes, to using only his fingertips and quickening his pace. Soft skin slid so easily over his hard length, his foreskin slipping up over the tip before he pushed it back down.

"You know I can smell you getting horny, right?" he hummed, drawing her attention back to his face. "You're welcome to join me."

Boy, did she ever want to take him up on that offer. But just the thought of touching herself while on her period grossed her out.

"Suit yourself," Cobra whispered. His hand lifted to his lips, and he paused when Lucy placed her fingers gently on his knuckles. With a sly smirk, he let her pull it toward her, watching as a line of spit fell from her lips onto his palm. "Why, thank you," he chuckled, closing his hand over himself once again.

"You're very welcome," she giggled. She didn't hesitate when his arm wound around her shoulders, instead getting more comfortable and resting her head on his chest. She could feel the quiet moans rumbling in his chest, listening to his heart beating just a little faster when his legs started twitching. His hips curled, slowly thrusting into his hand, and a slow smiled lifted her lips when she heard him whisper her name between soft curses.

"Damn, just a little more," Cobra hissed. He was too preoccupied with the building tension burning in his gut to notice when Lucy propped herself on her elbow and brought her lips to his ear.

"A little more?" she whispered, smiling when he groaned and tightened his hold around her. "Can I try something?"

"Y-Yeah…" His eye shot open when her lips closed over his ear. "L-Lucy, what…" Just a single kiss to the golden hoop of his earring, and then he felt it. That sinful little tongue of her darted out and slid along the shell, forcing his hand to pump faster, pushing him higher toward that blissful peak. "Hell, yes. Again…"

Lucy giggled against him, shivering when his hand slid down from her shoulder to grasp desperately at her lower back, her hip, then finally her ass. And while she wasn't anywhere close to being as aroused as Cobra right then, that's not what it was about for her. She wanted him to let loose, to show her just how he liked to touch himself. Lucy wanted, most of all, to know that he was comfortable enough with her to be vulnerable like this. Because if he could do it, then she could too.

"Fuck… Shit, fuck, I'm… Oh, Lucy… L-Lucy…"

His stomach tightened, his hips locked in place and his feet pressing into the mattress as his hand pumped harder and faster. She only noticed that in her peripherals though. She was much more focused on the sweat dotting his furrowed brow while pulling her lips from his ear. His lips parted and the short, desperate breaths he pulled in. His muscles clenching over and over again as he brought himself closer to his release.

Their eyes locked, and she smiled while watching his single eye flutter closed when he finally succumbed to ecstasy.

He milked himself dry, licking his lips while sinking back onto the bed. It was only when he heard Lucy's quiet giggle from above that Cobra's eye cracked open again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lucy whispered as she looked down at the thick white streams and splatters contrasting the deeply tanned skin of his stomach. "That was sexy."

Cobra huffed out a wisping laugh and his hand smoothed over her back to the band of her bra. "Whatever you say." He knew one thing though, Lucy didn't realize just how much her being there had made him more ravenous. It wasn't intentional, she didn't know that she'd done anything, but that streak of curiosity in her was going to make him one happy bastard.

"Well, how was it for you?" she laughed.

"Fabulous," he sighed. "Best orgasm ever."

"Right…"

"I had you here," he said, turning his head to brush his lips across her cheek, "Sexy little tease."

"I'm not a tease," she smirked. "I was just curious if you'd like it. And now I'm curious about something else."

He blinked slowly then shrugged, grinning when Lucy's head lowered and her lips drifted down his chest. As her tongue smoothed over his stomach and she pressed open-mouthed kisses to his stomach and ribs, licking away all traces of his release, Cobra's eye closed and he hummed in contentment. He jumped a moment later when her mouth closed over his softened member. "Sensitive!" he squeaked as her tongue slipped beneath his foreskin. "Sh-Shit, sensitive!"

Lucy giggled and lifted her head when he started smacking her away. "Sorry."

"Evil fucking woman," he huffed.

"You like it."

Cobra didn't have to admit out loud that he did, in fact, like her "evil" side. The saucy little shit already knew it. And if he wasn't already over the damn moon for her, when she crawled over and laid against his side and pressed a tender kiss to his cheek, he would have swooned right then. Moreso when she kissed the scar over his right eye socket and whispered, "Happy birthday, Cobra."

Definitely the best birthday he'd had to date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did consider making Lucy unknowingly ace, that she just hadn't realized it yet, but decided I wanted the story to be about her insecurity. There are women who are limited sexually because of insecurity in their bodies, etc. Considering Lucy's insecure about her body, plus Gray cheating on her, well it makes for one hell of a complex in my opinion. That was the main focus going in and I wanted to keep true to that.


	3. Crave Your Truth

It wasn't often, even though Lucy and Cobra had been spending more time together, that they were seen sitting together in the guild. More often than not, Cobra wasn't  _at_  the guild. Lucy understood it though. She understood that, while he did want to get to know the other members of Fairy Tail a little better and for them to get to know him, Cobra couldn't handle how loud it was all the time.

But that day, even though it was busy and there had been non-stop brawling since just after breakfast, Cobra and Lucy sat beside each other at the bar and ate lunch together. It wasn't anything too big, but they wanted to at least get something in their stomachs before taking a job with Natsu and Happy later that afternoon.

It was the first job Cobra would take with Natsu, the first time they were going to try and work together. Lucy was definitely nervous though. What if they couldn't get along? What if Natsu got on Cobra's nerves to the point that he just poisoned him? And, of course, what if Cobra realized that Lucy's best friend was, in fact, so annoying that he couldn't be around her anymore?

"Now that's just silly," Cobra said, watching as Lucy sighed and took the first bite of her sandwich. "I'm more likely to poison him than disappear. You should know that."

"Yeah, but I don't want him to get poisoned."

"It wouldn't be  _deadly_ ," he smirked, taking a bite of his salad. "But I'll reserve poisoning for enemies, okay?"

"Thank you," she giggled. She glanced over at her glass of water, then to the disgustingly green smoothie sitting in front of him. "What is that?"

"My drink." He chuckled when her tongue snaked out at him. "Apples, bananas, kiwi, mango, pineapple, spinach, spirulina, alfalfa, broccoli, kale, garlic, wheatgrass, barley grass, ginger, and parsley."

Lucy blinked slowly. "... What?"

Cobra laughed and pushed the glass toward her. "I gave Mira the recipe so I could order it when I'm here. Try it."

Lucy frowned but wrapped her lips around the straw. She took a small breath and nearly gagged right then. It smelled fucking disgusting, and made her wonder how Cobra was able to handle it in the first place. Still, she took a small sip, drawing back from the drink as though it was going to suck out her soul. It was kind of sweet, but mostly just gross. The weird gritty feeling left on her tongue, how watery it was even though it looked like a smoothie. But it was a thick kind of watery, like she'd poured partly curdled milk in her mouth.

Cobra snorted when Lucy took a large sip of her water. "More for me then."

"Where did you get that recipe?"

"I made it," he shrugged. "Well, it was inspired by some drink I saw in a store, but I fixed it up a little. Added the apples and kiwi to sweeten it." He was about to take another bite of his salad, then his eye caught on her sandwich.

Lucy felt his stare as she lifted her food, and glanced at the Poison Slayer only to find him frowning at her sandwich. She knew he was a vegetarian because he didn't like how meat tasted, but she smiled and held it out to him anyway. "It's roast beef with bacon," she offered.

Cobra pursed his lips for a moment, then ignored how Mira was staring at them with a curious gleam in her eyes when he leaned forward and took a tentative bite of her sandwich. Once it was in his mouth, he wanted to gag. The mayonnaise and onions and pretzel bun, he didn't mind, but the crunch of the bacon, the grease, and how it tasted to have thin strips of beef sitting in his mouth made him want to hurl.

Without a thought, he grabbed Lucy's free hand and dragged it closer, then spit out the food into her palm. "That…" He shuddered, grabbing his drink and taking a large gulp.

Lucy stared down at the food in her hand, then back to Cobra. It wasn't often that he was grossed out by something. That little scrunch in his nose was precious. With a soft laugh, Lucy shook her head and popped the piece of sandwich into her mouth.

"I don't know how you eat that shit," he muttered.

Lucy wiped her lips and hand on a napkin and, without thinking about where they were, leaned over to press her lips to his cheek just when Cobra took a large bite of his salad. "Same way you drink  _that_  shit."

He glared at her, but still smiled when she pulled back to look at him.

"You're kinda cute when you want to be." He huffed and sent his attention back to his food, but Lucy still caught the barely visible flush to his cheeks while she took another bite of her sandwich.

* * *

It didn't take much for Cobra to realize that Lucy was more comfortable giving him pleasure than taking it for herself. What took a little longer to understand was why. She had made a point of kissing him from head to toe and finding every spot on his body that he liked to have her touch. He'd been a desperate mess by the time she finally came to kneel between his legs and put her lips on his cock with the only other contact in their clasped hands while he writhed and groaned and gripped the sheets until he finished in her mouth.

From his birthday, through the S Class exams - which, she had been put up for promotion and succeeded - and into the new year, Lucy seemed as though she'd forgotten about wanting him to watch her masturbate. He didn't bring it up, and she didn't think about it.

But that day, when he came to her apartment and saw the blonde in her robe and heard the bath running, Cobra heard it. She was embarrassed. Nervous to let herself go in front of someone else. She'd been too self-conscious while with Gray, and it made her lock up, unable to reach that blissful release. But she was horny right then, so ready for it that she was willing to try.

Cobra smiled while leaning against the frame of her bathroom door, watching as her fingers wriggled beneath the flowing water from the tap as she filled the bath. Her hair was already tied up, baring her pale, slender throat. Without a word, he went back to her bedroom and undressed. By the time he returned with a towel around his hips, the water was off and Lucy was facing the door, already untying the sash while she looked into his hungry eye.

He'd yet to see her naked. Pale silver fabric parted between her breasts and down her center, then shifted and slid down to the floor. And then she was bare, her cheeks flushed while she forced herself not to look away from his face or to hide her body.

The sugary scent of her wafted through the air as his gaze travelled lower, down to the natural swell of her breasts, her puckered nipples. Her pinched waist and the barely visible scars from when she'd been poisoned. The swell of her hips and the trimmed patch of blonde between her beautiful legs.

"You're staring," she whispered. His eye snapped back to her face, and Cobra smiled while slowly coming forward to wrap his arms around her. His hands moved from her shoulders to clasp at the small of her back.

"Well, it's hard not to stare," he chuckled, kissing her hair. "You sure?"

Lucy nodded, brushing her nose across his chest. She didn't even need to ask if they could just sit in the bath for a little bit to get used to being that way.

"Alright." They carefully got situated in the tub with Cobra taking a seat first and Lucy settling herself between his legs. And both mages laughed when water sloshed out of the tub from being overfilled for two occupants. Lucy lifted the plug, setting it back when enough water had drained.

"I'm not really a bath kind of guy," Cobra said.

"Baths are magical," she grinned, laying her head back on his shoulder. "Maybe you'll enjoy them more after today."

"Only if you're in it with me." He took a slow breath while gently massaging down her arms to the tips of her fingers, listening to her content hum.

When his lips pressed lightly just behind her ear, Lucy giggled and bent away. "That tickles."

And that was definitely different for him. Normally Lucy just melted when he kissed her there, but now that she was aroused, he couldn't. Figuring her out was going to be a challenge, but it only made him grin. He did like a challenge, and if the reward for this was being able to have her come apart in his arms, even if he wasn't doing a thing to help her, then he was all for it.

"I'll tell you right now," he said, resting his chin on her shoulder as Lucy's hand slipped between her legs, "I'm gonna get hard."

"Seriously?"

"Even if I was in the other room, I would," he admitted. "Your soul sounds really fucking sexy right now." His lips turned down only slightly when her fingers paused in their quest toward her bundle of nerves. Ah, that's right. Lucy didn't like dirty talk, and while that was mild in comparison to what he could have said, Cobra reminded himself that this was about finding out what she liked. And about Lucy being comfortable enough to let loose. Maybe when she was really into it, he could try again. But not then, and maybe even not this time.

' _How does a soul sound sexy? Mm, that feels nice.'_

She pushed one finger into her sex, drawing it out just as quickly to circle her clit. And even though Lucy's eyes were closed as though she was caught in some fantasy behind her eyelids, he could hear it. It was just blank.

She didn't fantasize about a damn thing, not even him - not that he minded, it was just weird. The blonde simply let her fingers do the work that they needed to so she could get off. She was detached from it, and when he listened a little closer, Cobra at least felt a little better knowing that this was exactly what she did normally.

Only quiet whimpers left her barely parted lips. He still let his gaze trail across her creamy flesh, down to her breasts to see that each shaky breath she took in had her nipples peeking out on the surface of the water. She took a deeper breath, nibbling her lip when her leg twitched against his.

' _Maybe he could kiss me a little…'_

Cobra grinned and let his lips trail across her collarbone, listening to how her breath stuttered. When he kissed the column of her throat and drifted higher toward the shell of her ear, her soul hummed and purred and Lucy's legs parted just a little more. She could feel his arousal pressing into her back, and Cobra did his best to ignore the soft brush of skin over him every time she shifted.

' _Come on… So what if he's watching? Well, it's kinda weird that he can see me, but I asked him to… But it's embarrassing. What if I make a stupid face?'_

Cobra said nothing as he buried his nose in her hair, turning so his eye couldn't see what she was doing. Even though she wanted him to watch, if it was too much for him to see her like this then he could help her out.

' _Well, now he can't see me. God, this is embarrassing.'_ She moaned a little louder, then clamped her lips shut as pleasure streaked through her. Her toes curled and her legs tensed, feeling the coil within ready to snap. And even though her fingers drew tight circles over her sensitive bundle, and she could feel her release building, she was stuck. It just wouldn't fucking happen.

Her eyes clamped shut and her nipples hardened as they pushed out of the water. Cool air kissed her tingling skin. God, she was so close. It had seemed so easy for Cobra when the tables had been turned. And maybe it had been. He hadn't really seemed to have an issue with her watching him.

"Because it was hot as hell," he whispered. "Feeling you next to me… When I was the one working it off."

Lucy whimpered and bit harshly at her lip.

"Just relax," he said, kissing her hair. His head shifted so he could see her face contorted in a pleasured grimace. The flush on her cheeks reaching down to her gently heaving chest. "You look so beautiful like this."

' _I can't… God, I want to… But I just can't when he's watching me…'_

Slowly, Cobra's hand slipped beneath the water and across her hip. His thumb drew slow circles, drifting closer to her center. "Can I?" he whispered, smiling when her eyes snapped open and she froze once their eyes locked.

"Y-You…"

"Just here." His fingers gently teased her lower lips, easing closer to her entrance then gently pushing two fingers into her. Lucy bit her lip, still unsure of herself even as Cobra started slowly caressing her inner walls in long, languid strokes. "Don't stop, Lucy."

She gasped when his other hand closed over hers, his fingers covering her own and pressing them to her clit. And once she started to work herself back into a decent pace, his hand moved again, gently massaging her thigh. Cobra couldn't stop the soft moan mirroring hers when Lucy sifted her fingers through his hair and pulled him into a timid kiss. And even though she didn't say it, he could hear the desperate pleas from her soul for  _more_  and  _faster_  and to touch her  _right there, harder_.

Lucy broke away from the kiss with a startled whimper as he gently pinched her nipple and started scissoring his fingers within her. His lips locked onto her collarbone, kissing and nibbling the sensitive flesh as she climbed higher.

Her back arched into his touch as he plucked and pulled at her nipple then switched to the other breast. "Like this?" he whispered.

She nodded quickly, her hips curling of their own accord. Sensations assaulted her, his fingers within her, twisting and curling and pushing deeper than before, her own on her clit, the soft brush of his hair along her wrist where she gripped it. How he teased her nipples, massaged her breasts just the way she wanted him to. His lips brushing across her cheek and jaw and throat in gentle, encouraging kisses.

' _Shit… Is he gonna make me… God, my hand hurts.'_

"C-Cobra!" Lucy gasped as his hand left her breast and insistent, calloused fingers took place of hers over her clit.

"Can I?"

"I-I don't kno - Oh, god!" She clutched at his thighs as his fingers moved faster than before, plunging as deeply as he could and wildly scissoring within her slick passage while his other hand teased her sensitive bundle mercilessly.

What he wouldn't give to tell the blonde how much he wanted her right then. Watching her begin to writhe in his embrace, hearing her harsh breaths over the slosh of water onto her tile floor. Feeling her fingers digging into his legs to anchor herself as her body drew taut under his ministrations.

He wanted to tell her just how wet she was, how much he wanted to taste her sweet pussy and feel her release coating his tongue.

But this was more than enough. Her soul thrummed and growled with desire, whispered words that Lucy was unaware of normally saying while in the throes of passion, pushing herself further toward ecstasy. So, instead, Cobra decided to let her hear him saying it.

"Come on," he whispered in her ear, nipping gently at the lobe, "You can cum for me. Let me feel it, Lucy." At her silent, albeit unconscious request, Cobra pumped his fingers harder than before, with more force than he would have thought she would want, feeling her arousal slicking his fingers and tinging the water with its scent. Not that she could smell it, but he could. Sweet mother of god, he could  _smell_  how close she was, how ready her body was to fly over the edge.

"Th-There," she gasped. "Oh… O-Oh, Cobra… Cobra! Oh god…" Her jaw clenched as the cord within finally snapped with enough force to bow her back from his chest, a strangled cry crackling in her chest and her hips twitching and curling toward his slowing fingers. One hand dropped into the water, pushing him back into her still-spasming sex before he could withdraw completely, holding him in place.

With slow, teasing strokes, Cobra let her ride out her release, smiling when her fingers shakily brushed across the shackle-scar on his wrist. She was more breathtaking in that moment than ever before. Because he'd finally been able to see her letting go, embracing his touch, begging for it. It was pure ecstasy, seeing her and hearing her soul sigh, unraveling just a little more. With a hidden smirk, his fingers twitched over her clit, sending a shocked exhale out of the blonde. "Again?"

She nodded, crying out when his finger flicked across her bud. A slow brush, feeling every ridge of his fingerprint, sweeping beneath and upward. His mouth was claimed roughly by her, lithe tongue plunging between his lips. And even though she'd been embarrassed at first, Lucy had no problem crying out his name against his lips as the Poison Slayer pulled a second orgasm from her already quivering body several minutes later.

And when Lucy finally melted against him, whimpering in sated bliss as Cobra's fingers slid from her sex, her eyes peeked open to see his hand moving through the water and finally resting on her thigh. He didn't try to taste her right then, to put his fingers in his mouth and suck her essence from them. She'd hated it when Gray did that after fingering her, how he would moan and hum like it was the most delicious thing in the world. It was weird.

Then again, Lucy hated even more that she was comparing Cobra to Gray. There was no comparison. Cobra understood her better than Gray ever had when it came to things like this. So why was she?

"That's normal," Cobra whispered, brushing his nose across her flushed cheek as his arms wrapped around her waist. "You compare with what you know."

"I shouldn't," she sighed.

Except Cobra really didn't mind it. With a small smile, he said, "I like it when you do. Knowing that I make you happy…" He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her lips, then nuzzled just behind her ear. "I don't mind you making me feel like I can do something right for once in my life."

"What do you mean?" Lucy frowned.

"I've made a lot of mistakes. And this?" Cobra couldn't stop himself from tightening his hold on her with not just his arms, but his legs pressing more firmly against hers so she could feel him surrounding her. "This is one thing I never thought I'd have with the shit I've done. Someone like you is just too perfect for a bastard like me."

"I'm not perfect," she whispered, hands brushing over his legs beneath the water.

"But you are to me," he said. "And that's all I care about."

She couldn't stop the heat from spreading across her cheeks while she forced his lips away from her neck to look into his eye. Cobra wasn't one for wearing his emotions out in the open, but she could see the sincerity and adoration in his gaze, felt it in her pounding heart. "You're perfect to me, too," she smiled. Lucy snuggled closer as Cobra slid them both a little lower into the water, his chin resting on her shoulder once more. "Happy Valentine's Day."

* * *

Once the weather had warmed and the pool opened at the guild, every mage in Fairy Tail flocked to it. There was no shortage of fun to be had between sitting on lounge chairs and drinking and chatting, or roughhousing in the water. Laxus stayed beside Gildarts, the guild's current Master chuckling and deep in conversation with the Crash mage currently on medical leave - a new probation set up by Wendy for mages who came home injured from jobs, with set time limits on how long they had to wait before being allowed to take another. Gildarts wasn't happy about being categorized as a  _Red_ , but he assumed that having a heart attack while on a mission with Cana warranted at least a little restraint.

Natsu and Gajeel were arm-wrestling beside Erza and Elfman, trading partners over one another and ramping up the stakes and difficulty in new and interesting ways.

Gray sat at one of the few umbrella-covered tables with Cana and Mira, watching as Juvia laughed and splashed in the shallows with Asuka.

"Gray, when are you and Juvia going to get married?" Mira asked with a smile.

"I dunno," he muttered. "I'm kinda over the whole marriage thing."

"Just because it didn't work out with Lucy doesn't mean you can't find that kind of happiness with Juvia."

"It's not that," he said. He took a long gulp of his frosted beer when Mira raised a brow at him.

"Well, you and Juvia have been an item for a while," she said slowly, counting the years in her head. Five years already. How time flew. "Don't you think she wants you to propose?"

"Probably," he muttered. "But she gets it. I don't want to get married again. I did it. It was horrible."

"How was it horrible?" Cana laughed. "From what I could tell, you and Lu were great until we found out you were banging Juvia behind her back. She was always telling us about how perfect it was living with you and all the stupid mushy shit you guys did."

"No one's gonna give that up, are they?" he scowled. "Yeah, I cheated on her and I should have just left her when I started regretting it all, but I was an idiot who married her instead."

The two women beside him blinked in surprise, but it was Cana who spoke first with narrowed eyes and her hand clenching on her mug. "You mean, you didn't want to marry Lucy to begin with?"

"Not really," he huffed.

"But you did it anyway and took her virginity…"

"I guess, yeah."

"Gray, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he spat. "I was drunk when I proposed, and Lucy was too, but then she remembered it in the morning. It was stupid. I never wanted to  _be_  married, but I figured it was better than breaking her heart."

"So you strung her along for three  _years_?" Mira hissed. That wasn't even counting the time they'd dated before even getting married. "Gray, that's…" Her jaw dropped when tanned fingers curled around Gray's head and slammed it down onto the table with an audible crunch, her deep blue eyes shooting up to see Cobra standing behind the Ice Make mage and snarling down at him.

"You broke my damn nose!"

Cobra turned Gray's head to the side then leaned down and pulled the lollipop from between his lips while looking into pained, teary eyes. "You're lucky that's all I fucking broke," he growled. "I don't know where you get off thinking it's fine to tread all over a woman, but you'd better wake the fuck up  _little boy_."

"Get the hell off of me!"

Cobra pushed his head further into the table. "What you haven't told them is that you've been fucking Juvia since she joined the guild," he spat, "Since  _before_  you got together with Lucy. So, not only did you string Lucy along, thinking everything was perfect, and make her fall in fucking love with you… You had everyone thinking Juvia was a goddamn lunatic because she was just trying to be closer to you in public, even while you were dating Lucy out in the open."

"Gray!" Mira hissed.

"Oh, tell me he's kidding," Cana sneered.

"That's none of your business," Gray said, glaring at Cobra. "And what would some asshole like you know about treating a woman right anyway? You're a criminal, Cobra."

"A criminal I might be," Cobra grinned, moving closer until Gray could feel his breath across his face. "But when I hear some piece of shit thinking about Lucy the way you were, I feel it's well within my rights to knock some goddamn sense into them. She will  _never_  take you back, asshole. Don't even consider it."

"I-"

"I know  _everything_  you did, Gray," Cobra sneered. "Every lie you told, every nasty little cunt you fell into that  _wasn't_  either of them. I'm the one who showed her you were cheating to begin with, and Lucy fucking trusts me more than she ever trusted you."

"Bullshit," Gray said, fighting to push Cobra off and grunting when the Poison Slayer dodged his every attempt.

"Do you want to know why?" Cobra lifted Gray's head from the table, forcing his gaze over to where Lucy was being thrown around in the pool by Natsu as a clear distraction. "Because I can hear her soul, and she knows I'd die for her. I would do  _anything_  to hear her soul singing every single day that I'm alive. You saw it that day, didn't you, Gray? When you had to bring her to  _me_? When I saved her life?"

"I could get her back," Gray scowled. "All I have to do is tell her you attacked me."

"In her best interests, I assure you," Cobra chuckled. "But here's the rub. As soon as I'm done here, as soon as you fucking understand that I'm never letting you  _near_  her again? I'm going over to her and telling her the truth." He really did enjoy the way Gray's eyes widened in horror. "Oh, not about what you did. That's for a rainy day. I mean, I'll be telling her about coming over here. And do you want to know why?"

"Because you don't lie to people?" Cana smirked.

"Goddamn right, I don't," Cobra chuckled. "Now, be a good  _boy_  and stop thinking about Lucy in any way other than as a guild mate. Because if you don't, I'll come to your house in the middle of the night, gut you from tits to testicles, and then make you watch me literally  _fuck_   _your intestines_  before I kill you. Have I made myself clear?"

Gray stayed silent, simply glaring through the pain as Cobra's grip on his hair tightened. Slowly, the Poison Slayer put the lollipop back in his mouth, then shoved him back into his chair and walked off toward the pool where Lucy was panting and struggling to pull herself from the water.

"That guy's a total psycho," Gray muttered, putting a hand to his nose. All three mages at the table watched Cobra pull another lollipop out of the pocket in his swim trunks, open it, then pop it into the blonde's waiting mouth once she was standing.

They were silent while watching Cobra talk to Lucy, her brow furrowing with concern. And then her eyes darted toward Gray and went wide in horror at the sight of his bloody face. She scowled while looking back at Cobra and just when Gray was sure the Slayer would get a Lucy Kick across the pool and the scolding of a lifetime, something else happened entirely.

Lucy gently pulled the lollipop from between her lips, just when Cobra said something else and cupped his hand around her blushing cheek and drew her closer, then pressed his lips to hers.

Cana whooped and catcalled along with others in the guild when Lucy's knees visibly weakened as Cobra deepened the kiss, his arm wrapping around her as she leaned into his embrace. "That's what I'm talking about!" the Card mage hollered. "Get some, Lu! You sexy fucking bitch!"

Lucy slowly pulled back, smiling shyly up at Cobra, and only the other Slayers could hear her stuttering whisper of,  _Well, I guess the guild knows we're together_.

Cobra's only response was a shrug as he put the lollipop back in his mouth. Once Lucy had done the same, he grinned down at her and lifted the blonde into his arms, then jumped right back into the pool.

Mira giggled when they surfaced and Lucy started splashing Cobra before jumping on his back and demanding he carry her, pointing her lollipop toward Natsu. The fact that he simply laughed and dunked the blonde again by falling backwards onto her was odd, but still so distinctly  _Cobra_  that Mira just couldn't handle it. "They're going to make beautiful babies," she sighed as Lucy crawled onto Cobra's shoulders and the pair challenged Erza and Natsu to a game of Chicken Fight.

* * *

Lucy and Cobra were lying on the couch at her apartment, wearing their normal "required" clothing for relaxation at nearly nine at night. The lamp in the corner provided just the right amount of light for them to read without it being too bright, especially as their eyes grew heavier when the night wore on.

Cobra teased Lucy about her choice of reading material until he realized that it was in another language that he'd heard  _of_  but had never actually heard  _spoken_. They'd gained a new hobby together, when they had late nights spent inside - which both not so secretly loved their nights in. They laid on the couch with Lucy curled up between Cobra's legs and her head on his chest, and draped a blanket over themselves. Then one would read to the other. Once they finished a book, they would switch. And this time it was Lucy's turn.

"You look confused," she laughed.

"I have no idea what this shit says," Cobra frowned. "Or what it's about."

"It's an epic poem," she said, smiling while his hands burrowed beneath the blanket and caressed her bare stomach. "It's about a warrior who travels across kingdoms and defeats monsters."

"As most epic tales tend to be about," he smirked.

"Well, there's a dragon in this one."

"I've read a couple with dragons before."

"This is the one that predates all the others. It's where they stole it from.  _And_  the warrior's a woman." Alright, that one, he had to admit, piqued his interest. Nearly every epic he'd cracked open had a manly warrior doing manly things and -  _'Good fucking God, Elfman's been reading too many of these!'_

"And you're planning on reading this… how?" He was suddenly struck into silence when Lucy looked at him over her shoulder, out of the corner of her eye, and a soft and reminiscent smile curled her full lips. Damnit, he was turning into a sap because of her. But he just couldn't find the will to hate it nearly as much as he probably would have years before when he'd still been with Crime Sorciere. She was breathtakingly, painfully beautiful like this.

"My mom used to read this book to me," she whispered. "And I had Freed teach me the language after we rebuilt the guild in X791."

That explained the look on her face. Not the part about Freed, but her mother. After years of being in her company, even having accompanied her on a trip or two to Acalypha to visit her parents' graves, Cobra understood the bond she'd shared with them. To a point. It wasn't something he'd ever had, but hearing the memories trickling through her soul, the happy and sad and heartbreaking, gave him a pretty good idea of what it was like to even  _have_  a family.

And Lucy's mother and father were still a large part of her life to that day. She wrote them letters, and went to clean their graves and set new flowers. She had a picture of them on her desk with a small memorial candle that she lit on the annual commemoration of their respectives deaths.

"If I ever have kids one day," Lucy sighed, her fingers brushing across the scrawling text on the worn leather cover, "I wanted to be able to pass this on to them. Just a piece of my mother and all the women in the Heartfilia line."

That was the first time she had ever mentioned wanting a family in the future. And Cobra, for all he knew just how he felt about Lucy and how she felt about him, wasn't really sure where that left the two of them. They were together, but… was that something she wanted with  _him_?

"But you know what it all means, right?" he whispered, forcing himself to focus on the blonde once again and not the worried knot souring his gut.

"I do." She smiled while pressing her lips to his. "You'll hear it, right?"

"Yeah, I'll hear your soul translating it," he chuckled. "It might get a little confusing though, hearing two languages at once."

"Well, I have the translated version on the shelf," she giggled. "Want me to grab-"

"No." His arms tightened around her, pulling her closer as he threw one leg over hers. "We're both comfortable. And if you have the translated one, then I can read it later to see what the story's about."

"But you won't understand if you ignore my soul," she frowned.

"True, but I  _will_  get to focus all my attention on hearing you speak another language," he grinned. "And that's a treat all to itself." Oh, how he loved the way her ears burned a bright red when she was feeling shy. "How about this? You read this to me, and I'll read the translation to you?"

"Deal," Lucy said instantly. She snuggled closer and carefully opened the book, then started to read.

 _Hwæt! We Gar-Dena in geardagum,_  
þeodcyninga þrym gefrunon,  
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon!  
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,  
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,  
egsode eorlas, syððan ærest wearð  
feasceaft funden; he þæs frofre gebad,  
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,  
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra  
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,  
gomban gyldan. Þæt wæs god cyning!

While she read, Cobra let himself get lost in the gentle lilt of her voice as she emphasized each word in a way that he never would have considered. He tried to follow the text on the page, but there were characters he'd never seen before, and it all just looked like gibberish. Still, when he drowned out Lucy's soul and only listened to her voice, it was almost as though she was singing some distant, soothing lullaby.

And because he was so focused on the words coming out of her mouth and soaking in every foreign sound she made, Cobra forgot all about her mention of wanting children, and the fear he had of telling her that it was something they'd never have.

* * *

It was officially a first for Lucy, seeing Cobra the way he was right then. How he smiled with a group of people surrounding him, threw jokes around left and right, and seemed to not have a care in the world.

Crime Sorciere had come to Magnolia to visit just when the temperatures started dropping, and as soon as he knew they were going to be in town, Cobra had informed Lucy that she was more than welcome to come over and spend time with them. He even admitted that he wanted her to be able to feel comfortable around them, because the other former Seis members were the closest friends he had and every time they'd been in town - though it was seldom and he usually only found out the day they were coming that they'd be there - she'd already been out on a job with Natsu.

Of course, Lucy had agreed. She'd helped him cook dinner and saw his excitement mounting the closer his four friends came to the apartment. And the more Cobra was excited, the more she fed off of it until she was nearly bouncing by the time they'd knocked on the front door. And Cobra had simply laughed when Lucy dropped the knife she'd been washing and dried her hands off, shouting that she would get the door and he should just keep working on the pasta, then dashed out of the kitchen and threw the door open.

The looks on their faces had been hilarious. Even Midnight's jaw dropped at the sight of the blonde - wearing a long-sleeved crop top and jeans instead of a sports bra and comfy pants - answering the door instead of Cobra.

And when Lucy heard the soft mutter of, "Good job, Macbeth. You got us lost," from Angel, she couldn't help but laugh and invite them inside. As soon as Cobra popped his head out of the kitchen to tell them to hurry the fuck up, they'd relaxed. Lucy had never thought that seeing  _her_  of all people would make the former criminals scared.

It was even more amusing to see the utter shock on Cobra's face when Angel walked in and removed her coat, revealing a very pronounced belly. The fact that he'd nearly dropped the plates he was carrying toward his dining table (Lucy tended to forget that he even had one with how rarely they used it), almost had her laughing out loud. Except there was something else in his gaze that had the blonde pausing. She couldn't be sure what it was, but it was gone in an instant and Cobra was placing the plates on the table and drawing the former Celestial mage into a hug while simultaneously punching Midnight in the head for knocking her up.

She'd never had the opportunity to talk with Midnight, Angel, Racer, and Richard like this before. Even when they visited the guild with Jellal and Meredy, they mostly kept to themselves. She still found it strange that they all went by their birth names now.

But now she could see how Sorano's smile could reach her eyes and make her even more beautiful while talking about her and Macbeth joining Sabertooth to be with her little sister, Yukino, and finally settle down. How Sawyer was actually a huge pervert, but muttered his comments only when Sorano couldn't hear him; she'd witnessed the pregnant woman putting him in a headlock for a harmless  _that's what she said_. And it was more than heartwarming to find out that Richard had finally found his brother.

Cobra - Lucy hadn't known his name was Erik until Sorano started calling him that, but he didn't look too happy about that name being used - was all smiles. They were easy smiles that usually only she saw. And she couldn't find it in herself to be jealous of having to share in his happiness, because this was a whole new side to the Poison Slayer that she was having a hard time  _not_  swooning over.

"So, Lucy," Sorano said while twirling her spaghetti around her fork, "How did you and Erik get together?"

It was so refreshing to hear the question like that, and not  _how long have you been dating_  or _when did you start fucking_  or anything else.

"Well," she smiled, remembering the silliness of it all, "It all started before Gray and I got divorced in X795."

"You think so?" Cobra frowned.

She nodded, soft pink dusting her cheeks. "I never would have known he was cheating on me if it wasn't for you, Cobra," she said, turning her attention back to Sorano. "But a few months went by and the women in the guild were trying to get me  _back out there_."

"That sounds idiotic," Macbeth said. No one disagreed with his assessment.

"They kept dragging me out," Lucy laughed, "And every time we passed a certain  _someone's_  apartment, he'd tease me. I'm not sure what changed though."

Cobra chuckled and swallowed his food. "I heard you didn't want to go out. And the other thing."

"Other thing?"

"Touching."

"Oh." Lucy's cheeks burned even brighter while her gaze dropped to her plate. She hadn't known the real reason he'd started inviting her over. Somehow, it had never really come up. "A-Anyway, he propositioned me from his window with candy and sweatpants."

"It was a bit nicer than that," he laughed. "Downright sexy, actually."

"You wish," Sorano giggled. "So, did you do it?"

Lucy shook her head, smiling right along with Cobra. "I ignored him for  _months_. Even when he sat there, eating candy, I didn't think he was serious. Then he threw me a piece and it had a note on it. I came over a two months after that, and we ate about three bags of Valentine's candy in total silence. Then we just hung out over here when I wanted to hide from the guild."

"Two whole years of it before you even tried to kiss me," he smirked, his eye naturally softening as her hand rested on his atop the table.

The other mages present watched in silence as Lucy's fingers gently twined with his. "Well, I think you guys are perfect for each other," Macbeth said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "There aren't many people outside of us who would understand Erik's issue with being touched, Lucy."

And the blonde understood exactly what he meant. Cobra had told her a while ago, when she'd seen him shirtless and wanted to kiss every scar on his body - which she did - where they had all come from. His torture had made him physically closed off. It took a long time for him to be alright with physical contact again, even with the Seis, and though he no longer had panic attacks from being touched on just his shoulder, the slow pace they'd taken before even holding hands had helped him be more comfortable with her. And he'd appreciated every moment where she might have tried to hug him, but simply held his hand instead.

"But you do," Sorano said softly, a small frown curling her lips.

"Not like you guys," Lucy said. "But yeah, I get it. I liked taking my time and getting to know him."

"But enough about that," Cobra said, clearing his throat. He turned his attention back to Macbeth and Sorano. "I wanna know more about this baby. Boy or girl?"

"We don't know," all four mages sighed in unison.

"Every time they try to check the sex, the little stinker  _moves_ ," Richard chuckled.

"Do you want to be surprised?" Lucy asked.

"God, no," Sorano said. "I want to know. Macbeth here is indifferent."

"I'm surprised he was awake long enough to fuck you," Cobra smirked, receiving a glare from the Reflector mage. "But, I can help… if you want."

"You…" Sorano blinked in surprise at the gentle smile on the Poison Slayer's lips. "Really?"

Without another word, Cobra stood from his seat and made his way around the table to kneel beside her. She turned slightly and watched with everyone else as his hand smoothed over her belly.

"Head," Cobra chuckled, bringing his other hand up to touch the other side of her baby bump, "Ass." His eye closed while his hands moved again. "Hands… Feet…" With a sly smirk his hand shifted slightly. "Uh-oh, I think I feel a tail. You're having a demon."

"Fuck off," Sorano laughed, tears already welling on her lashes.

His eye slowly opened and he looked up at his old friend. "Her soul's beautiful, Sorano. Just like yours."

"E-Erik…"

While Sorano leaned forward and hugged Cobra, Midnight stared at the pair with wide eyes. "Her?" he whispered. "We're… The baby's…"

"You're having a daughter!" Richard grinned, pulling the stunned Reflector mage into a tight hug. "The love between you has made a beautiful little girl!"

Lucy smiled from her seat, watching as the former Oracion Seis curled themselves around Macbeth and Sorano and kept congratulating them on the news. And when Cobra blindly reached back and pulled her closer, Lucy didn't fight it. Just like she didn't fight Sorano latching onto her and crying about how happy she was, or how she wished Lucy could feel what she was feeling so she wouldn't be the only one crying.

Luckily, Cobra piped up with, "Don't worry, Maybelline's makeup is running worse than yours." It made Sorano laugh when she looked over to see Macbeth's eyeliner and mascara trickling down his pale cheeks in thick black streams where he was sandwiched between Sawyer and Richard.

"Be nice, Uncle Erik," Macbeth sniffled, smiling at the wide-eyed, slack-jawed stare he received from the Poison Slayer.

* * *

Hours after Crime Sorciere left Magnolia, with Sorano and the others explaining that they were heading to Sabertooth so she and Macbeth could get settled in, Cobra sat in the darkened window seat and stared out to the slumbering city as the sun crawled higher and dimmed the few visible stars in the sky. He could see each little puff of air that left him in a pale, chilly cloud. He could hear Lucy's even breaths where she slept in his bed, where he wished he'd been able to keep sleeping beside her. A soft breeze rustled the drapes and chilled his cheek, making him even more aware of the tears sliding down to his chin.

He'd loved seeing Sorano and Macbeth, Richard and Sawyer. He'd missed them, and knew that they really should stay in better contact. It was proof enough that he hadn't even known Sorano was pregnant until she was nearly seven months along. What if one of them had died? How long would it be before he'd have found out something like that?

He'd resolved as soon as Sorano had come inside, he was going to change that. Cobra was going to make an effort to call them, to stay up-to-date on their lives and the things happening around them. With a niece coming - he was still shocked that they would even consider him something like an uncle for their child - he refused to be out of the loop.

Slender fingers slid across his shoulders, lightly massaging while they worked from his spine outward. "Can't sleep?"

He sniffled and lowered his gaze. "Something like that." Her hands went still when she heard him sniffle again, no matter how quiet it was.

"Are you alright?"

Cobra shook his head, letting her slowly pulling him back away from the window. She didn't make him look at her, didn't force him to turn around. Instead, Lucy's arms wrapped around his bare shoulders and her cheek rested against the top of his head. Her hands were warm as they brushed across his upper arms. He could feel the extra warmth radiating from her, from being curled up beneath the blanket, the soft brush of her nightgown across his scarred back. And when her lips puckered against his scalp, Cobra's eye closed to soak up the soothing lullaby of her soul.

"Bad dream?" Lucy whispered. He shook his head again, turning his cheek against her arm and bringing a hand up to brush across her soft skin.

She knew well enough that he wasn't a peaceful sleeper. It was no small miracle he didn't flail while caught in memories of the past. And somehow, Lucy never minded that he would sometimes wake up pouring sweat, that the sheets would be soaked with his perspiration. She'd been worried the first time it had happened, scrambling from the bed as he rushed out of the room, then standing in the doorway as Cobra emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. And even though he'd yelled at her to get the hell out of his home, she'd stayed. Lucy had wet a washcloth and gently pressed it to the back of his neck. She'd stayed awake with him the rest of the night and when Lucy had fallen asleep just as the sun crested the horizon, he'd whispered his thanks to her for not leaving him alone.

"Is this about Sorano and Macbeth?" she whispered.

He hated that she could do that. That she was able to figure him out so easily at times. And though he wished he could tell her no, Cobra had never been a liar. So instead, he stayed silent. But his lack of a response was enough of an answer for her.

Lucy's arms tightened around him and her hands rubbed soothing circles on his arms. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He figured it was best if he just told her. Just came out with the truth. But the words caught in his throat and when he finally spoke, his voice was a ragged, broken whisper that betrayed just how deeply he felt the pain in his soul. "I-I can't have kids, Lucy."

"What do you mean?" she asked softly. "Because of-"

"No, not the Tower." He didn't blame her for thinking that he was scared of being a bad father because of his own childhood. She didn't know most of what had happened there, but the scars on his body from being whipped and beaten were proof enough of his torture. "I always wanted kids, I just… can't."

"How come?"

So, Cobra told her the story, no matter how his voice cracked with emotion, of what Brain did to him. To all five children he'd "saved" from the Tower of Heaven. How he'd drugged their food once they'd all turned fourteen and took them to a doctor who gave the boys vasectomies, who tied Sorano's tubes to prevent her from getting pregnant. And while Cobra was unconscious, Brain had the Dragon Slayer lacrima implanted in his chest.

They were told after waking up what had been done to them.

"Brain told us he didn't care if we had sex, but the last thing he wanted was babies fucking up our plans. I-I heard it though. He didn't want us attached to anyone, and having a kid with someone would breed  _'useless attachment'_."

"But you're still able to… well, to get off," Lucy frowned.

"Yeah, it's just semen though," he said. He'd been just as surprised by the distinction when he'd researched just what had been done to him and the others. "There's no sperm in it." He hadn't known that it was two separate parts of his body making the shit that came out of him. Then again, Brain hadn't exactly been big on the sex education front while raising them.

He went on to explain how he'd looked into having it reversed surgically when they had broken out of prison - when Lucy and the others were still stuck on Tenrou - but his body absorbed anesthesia because of the lacrima. He couldn't have pain medication. He couldn't be put under or numbed for the procedure, and with how delicate it was, there was no way Cobra could withstand the pain like he did with suturing himself up after missions.

"What about Macbeth and Sorano then?" Lucy whispered.

"He can have surgery," Cobra said. Macbeth had the procedure reversed and Sorano had her tubes "untied" so she could bear children. They went to a fertility clinic to help the process along. "Th-They wanted a family, so they made it happen."

He knew this was the first time she'd ever heard him cry, and when Cobra turned in Lucy's arms and buried his head against her breast, she caught sight of the tears shining on his cheek. She saw the devastation sitting so plainly on his usually calm features that she didn't stop herself from crawling into his lap and holding him as close as possible.

"It was my one w-wish," Cobra cried. After getting away from Brain and realizing that he really  _could_ have a normal life if he so desired, it was still never meant to be because of the lacrima he'd never wanted. "And I wish more than  _anything_  that I could give that to you…"

She would be a wonderful mother. So kind and caring, willing to discipline but still able to be gentle and affectionate. And just thinking about seeing Lucy the way Sorano had looked, so happy, how she glowed from that little life within her, made him want it that much more. Thinking about what it would be like to hold her and rub her swollen belly, to hear that sweet little soul thriving inside her, only made his tears come more forcefully.

"I'm so sorry," he sniffled. "I sh-should have told you sooner..."

"Cobra, you don't have to apologize to-"

"And if you can't be with me because you want a family-"

"Cobra!" Lucy scowled. "What makes-"

" - a-and there's no point for us to be together… Then I'll understand." It wasn't until he'd started talking that Cobra came to realize just how much it would crush him if Lucy left. She'd become everything good in his life. But if she couldn't be with him, he'd find a way to move on. He would be alone again, but so much of his life had been spent that way that maybe he could go back.

Except he knew he couldn't. Now that he'd had a taste of the perfection that rested in being with Lucy, Cobra couldn't go back to his solitary life. They spent nearly every day together - at his apartment, hers, the guild, sometimes on jobs - unless she was on a job with Natsu or out with the women in the guild. He slept beside her almost every night. And every time he woke up with her in his arms, Cobra was content. Happy. So complete that he didn't know how he'd gotten so fucking lucky to have her.

He'd never be the same if he lost her.

Her fingers carded through his hair, nails drawing gentle circles across his scalp and behind his ear as the tears soaking into her nightgown were matched with her own on her lashes and cheeks.

"I'm s-sorry," he whimpered against her. "I wish… I wish I could fix it."

"Cobra," she sighed. "It's okay."

"It's  _not_!"

"No, it really is." She forced him to look at her then, to see that she was crying as well. Not because she was sad over the news he'd given her, but because of how much this upset  _him_. "Having a family has only ever been a pipe dream," she whispered, brushing away the tears on his cheek. "I never expected to have kids with anyone. Or to find a man who'd want me to have them. Even with Gray, I just couldn't see us having kids. It's something I accepted a long time ago."

"But you  _want_  kids," he whispered. "I can hear it."

"Sure, deep down I think about what it would be like to have a baby," she nodded. "And I knew that if I ever miraculously got pregnant, I would love that little one with all my heart. But I'm not giving up on you, or on  _us_  just because we can't have kids."

It broke his heart when she pictured, right then, deep in her soul, what their child might have looked like. A little boy with his eyes and hair, her complexion, and both their temperaments. Or a little girl that looked just like him, maybe with Lucy's nose and lips, who learned Cobra's magic or hers, or didn't have any magic at all. Some child they would never be able to have.

"But, without kids life will maybe be a little easier," she said. "We won't have sleepless nights with a screaming baby. And kids are expensive, so we'd save a lot of money in the long run. And you wouldn't have to go on a murdering spree if we had a daughter, and she brought home a boyfriend. And we don't exactly live the safest lives as mages, so we'll never have to worry that a job going wrong will leave our child as an orphan."

And even though Cobra knew that Lucy was just trying to be positive about it, trying to help him feel better, it only made things worse. Because he  _wanted_  those sleepless nights, and disgusting diaper changes, and begging the little one to just stop crying. He wanted to wanted to use the money they made to make their kid's life a happy one. Yes, he wanted to threaten every perverted little bastard with dismemberment for even thinking of coming near their daughter. And Cobra would gladly cut back on the solo missions, take easier jobs with less pay, if it meant their child would have both parents growing up.

Eventually, Lucy realized that nothing she said had worked, that he was just too upset to see the reason in it all. There was nothing they could do to change things, but that didn't mean that this was all going to crash and burn. He'd known since the beginning, since they'd first kissed and through the years, that he couldn't have kids. It was only when they'd seen Sorano that this had started to bother him.

But maybe that's all it had taken for reality to settle in for him. His friends had been subjected to the same thing, but they were able to have it fixed. Sawyer and Richard could do the same if they so chose. But Cobra was stuck just the way Brain had wanted him to be, and knowing that made Lucy's heart ache for him.

She kissed the space between his brows and pulled his head to her shoulder once again, a sad smile pulling at her lips when he held onto her with everything he had. He trembled in her embrace, but she didn't mind it. Instead, she focused on the fact that this was the first time he'd opened up to her so fully. The first time all of his walls had come down with her present.

Her fingers brushed through his hair, across the scars on his back and shoulders, and her lips lowered to his pointed ear. "All I need to be happy is you, Cobra. Nothing else." And when he nodded against her, Lucy knew he felt the same. Her gaze lifted to the window, looking down at the first flurries of the year that kissed the lightening street below his apartment, and Lucy smiled sadly down at Laxus, who had stopped dead in his tracks and stared wide-eyed to the open window above, hearing everything the Poison Slayer had said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who's interested, the epic poem Lucy reads to Cobra is Beowulf in the original Old English. I'm obsessed with it. Obviously, I changed the protagonist in Beowulf to be a woman for the sake of this story… because I can. The first eleven lines aren't talking about Beowulf (the character) anyway, so there's nothing that needed to get changed as far as that's concerned.
> 
> For a little reference, Old English was used as a basis and inspiration for Tolkien's Elvish languages, because he was a "Saxon" scholar (he studied those bad boys).
> 
> If you want to know what this section sounds like, I recorded myself saying it for you guys. I had to memorize the first eleven lines of Beowulf in OE, and I still know them to this day. I apologize if the quality's a little wonky. I had to do it in the garage where it's relatively quiet at five in the afternoon. My house is a zoo.
> 
> Here's the link to that:  
> chirb.it/ vMn67B


	4. Crave Your Love

 

Cobra woke up on his couch with a sneeze. Then another sent his teeth crashing down onto his tongue. Well, that most definitely woke his ass up. Thankfully, he wasn't sick. He didn't have the flu or anything else. But there was a whole lot of fucking dust crawling its way up into his sinuses. He pulled his arm away from his face where it had been draped across his eye, then rolled onto his side to look at the shifting figure he'd seen in his peripherals, bathed in late afternoon sunlight.

Lucy stood on the tips of her toes, on a dining chair she'd pulled into the living room, dusting the damn ceiling fan. With a fucking feather duster. He sure as hell didn't own a feather duster, and not one with hot pink feathers and a lime green handle.

He couldn't even be angry over the tufts of dust slowly falling to the floor, and onto  _him_ , though. Because he was lying in the perfect spot to drink in every inch of her. From the knee-high black socks that said  _Bad Ass_  on the back, up the length of her slender, delectable legs to a pair of too short to be called  _shorts_ of frayed denim that bared the bottoms of her rounded cheeks. Her bare, pinched waist. Her muscles contracted while she reached just a little higher, and his eye honed in on a drop of sweat wriggling its way down her spine from the bottom hem of her blue and grey flannel crop top.

Lucy sighed and glared at the fan, internally cursing her short stature and resolving to have Cobra finish dusting it.

That reminded him, he hadn't done that in a while. Probably about six months. That would explain the copious amounts of dust littering his chest.

Lucy hopped down from the chair, nearly silent, then reached down to her hip and flipped through her playlist on her soundpod. A soft, late January breeze swept in through the open window while she pulled her hair up into a messy bun, high enough that even her bangs were pulled back from her face. She reached down to the candy bowl and pulled out a lollipop, tucking the wrapper in her pocket while the treat slipped between her lips.

Cobra smiled when she started cleaning over by the window, easily winding around the boxes stacked here and there on the floor. And his smile only widened when the blonde got lost in her work and started dancing to the music pumping through her headphones. He wasn't really a fan of the shit she listened to, but even  _he_  could admit that it had a catchy beat. And because he could still hear the song ricocheting through her soul while she hummed along, Cobra also realized that Lucy had no sense of tone. At all.

She bounced to the beat, shimmied her shoulders and shook that beautiful ass of hers with no problem. But she was tone-deaf. Thankfully, she seemed to know it, because she didn't start belting out the song - though that could have been because she thought he was still passed out on the couch.

Eventually she moved away from the window, dusting shelves and knick knacks and being careful while working around his books and the few pictures on the walls. When she was near the kitchen, Cobra snickered at her overly dramatic dancing. How she pantomimed the lyrics all while wriggling like she was speed-walking in place.

And the weirder her dancing got, the happier she was. She didn't care if she looked like a moron, because Lucy was thoroughly enjoying herself and so  _beyond_  just happy that he was sure she would combust. Her music was loud enough that she didn't hear Cobra laughing where he laid on the couch when she started doing the Carlton - snapping her fingers from side to side and bobbing her head in time with the music.

He just couldn't fucking help it though, because Lucy was a damn lunatic. A total fucking dork. And he was too far gone in his affection for her to call her ass out on the utter weirdness that was her existence from time to time.

Lucy spun to face the couch, grinning when she saw Cobra holding his stomach and silently (to her, at least) laughing.

Tears streamed from his eye when she ramped up the weirdness with Michael Jackson-style pelvic thrusts. She plugged her nose and wiggled into a squat, then waved the feather duster at the laughing Poison Slayer. Disco moves while biting her lip in a way they both knew was more scary than sexy. The Charleston, swing dance kicks, the fucking Elvis leg-wiggle. The goddamn Macarena. He was pretty sure she threw a Time Warp in the middle of that.

Lucy removed one of her headphones, smiling when she heard just how loudly he was laughing. He lost it when she did a damn moonwalk. Cobra shot up from the couch and scrambled over the back, his foot catching between the cushions and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Cobra-"

"I'm gonna piss my pants!" he shouted, still laughing as Lucy came around the side of the couch. It really wasn't helping that she was doing the fucking Running Man.

"You don't like my dancing?" she giggled.

He couldn't even stand, he was laughing too hard, but Cobra decided that pissing his pants was not how he wanted his day to go in the slightest. So, he did what he had to do. Part crawl, part run, he fought to breathe while getting himself to the bathroom and slamming the door. He couldn't get his pants unzipped fast enough while making his way to the toilet.

He was still chuckling by the time he flushed and washed his hands. And when he opened the door to find Lucy leaning on the back of the couch with a shit-eating grin, Cobra rolled his eye at her. Still, he was smiling.

"I thought it was pretty good," Lucy grinned.

"Yes. It was wonderful. If you're an epileptic gibbon on cocaine."

"That's what I was going for." He snorted while making his way over to the blonde, watching as she brushed the dust from his tank top. "I didn't wake you, did I? I know you're tired from moving boxes all day."

"Well, if you didn't have so much shit," he teased. His arms wound around her, his hands resting on her hips. "But no, the dust in my nose woke me up."

"Dust your fan more often, and you won't have that problem."

"Grow a few inches and you won't have to make  _me_  do it," he shot back. That was bullshit though. He didn't want Lucy to be any taller. She was the perfect height for cuddling, and when her head was on his chest and they were lying in bed, her cold as fuck toes were just barely able to graze the tops of his feet. "And it's not  _my_  fan."

"The building's fan," she huffed playfully, rolling her eyes.

"No, it's  _our_  fan," he chuckled. The happy trill in her soul from that one word echoed in his own. "Why are you dusting anyway?"

"Because you were taking a nap. I need your help organizing." Lucy's eyes fluttered closed when his lips lowered and captured hers in a gentle kiss.

"Later. We're sweaty and need a shower."

"You just want to see me naked."

He hummed at the thought and kissed her again, pulling a laugh from the blonde when he started slowly walking backwards, dragging her along with him to the bathroom. "That does sound tempting," he whispered against her lips. "Can we change the dress code to you being naked  _all_  the time?"

"No."

"Pretty please?" Cobra laughed when she kicked the door closed, moving further with her still in his arms and turning on the shower to let the water warm.

"Extra no," Lucy said. Their lips separated just long enough for her to pull his tank top off, reconnecting again in slow, meandering kisses. God, he loved it when she kissed him like this, how she didn't rush and plunge her tongue between his lips while his fingers worked the buttons on her shirt and shorts loose. Maybe it was weird, but he much preferred her breathy sighs and slow kisses. Then again, he had no problem with the times Lucy lost herself in passion and kissed him as though he breathed life into her every time their tongues tangled.

Once they were ready and their clothes littered the floor, he carefully led her into the shower and pulled her under the warm spray. And when he finally found the will to pull away from her lips, Cobra looked into her warm honey eyes, brushed her wet hair back from her face. "Lucy?"

"Yeah?" Her hands smoothed over the scars along his back; soothing, random patterns ran across the raised flesh.

"I'm so happy you moved in," he whispered. She smiled again and he drew her into his chest, nestling his nose in her hair. Neither said a word for several comfortable minutes, and then Cobra's lips twitched when he felt her hand drifting across his hip and down toward his thigh. "Pervert."

"Oh, shut up," she giggled, kissing the scar in the center of his chest where the lacrima had been implanted. "Otherwise, I won't get on my knees once your balls are clean."

"Shutting up now."

* * *

Lucy made her way to Laxus' office, knocking and letting out a quiet sigh when he called her in. It was still weird to see him sitting behind the desk that had once belonged to his grandfather, even though he'd been their guild master for six years already. "You asked to see me?"

Laxus nodded, motioning for her to take a seat across from him while he finished reading through the page in front of him from the Council, then signing it.

"Is this about the last job Natsu and I took?" she asked. "Because I  _told_  him that methane is flammable, but-"

"No," he laughed, leaning back and running a hand through his hair. "Natsu's already been handled. This is about something else."

Lucy frowned and nodded, getting herself a little more comfortable. It wasn't often that Laxus looked uncomfortable in front of anyone, but he definitely did then. He'd taken to being their guild master pretty easily when it was all official and Makarov retired.

"I overheard something," he said, staring at the paperwork on his desk. "A few months back, I was walking to the guild to get some paperwork done, and-"

"Is this about Cobra?" she asked, frowning when he winced. "I saw you that morning. How much did you hear?"

"Everything," Laxus sighed. "Lucy, I'm really sorry to be bringing this up at all. I'm sure it's not something you want to talk about."

"Because you should be talking about it to  _him_ ," she said. "Unless you're just trying to come clean that you heard it at all. But I don't see why that's important."

"Well, I talked to Porlyusica," he started, forcing himself to keep eye contact when Lucy's jaw tensed. "She's much more knowledgeable than Wendy when it comes to things like surgery that they used back then."

"And?"

"Look, I just wanted to help," Laxus sighed. "He sounded really upset about it, and I can understand that."

It was no secret that Laxus wanted kids of his own, but he hadn't been able to hold a stable relationship since becoming guild master. Lucy kind of felt for him, when she thought about it. The guild took up so much of his time, he didn't have the energy for anything else. And she'd really thought he and Mickey Chickentiger would have lasted when they were together in x794.

"Porly said there wasn't much that could be done about it," Laxus continued. "Since it was so long ago, there's scar tissue that would have to be cut before anything could get fixed. Not even Wendy can do that. If it was a fresh wound, no scar tissue, she could probably do it without having to put Cobra under."

"That's…" Lucy stared in disbelief at the blond before her. He honestly looked just as devastated knowing that nothing could be done to help Cobra. She knew Cobra wished more than anything that he could change it, but since that night he hadn't really talked about it again.

"If it makes you feel any better, Porly laughed at me when I asked if a doctor could just stick a needle in his balls and pull out some semen. It apparently doesn't work that way," Laxus muttered. "I even checked with doctors to see if there was some new procedure they could do, something without anesthesia. I didn't give any names, but… there's nothing. I'm sorry, Lucy."

"You did all that… just because you heard he wants kids?" she whispered.

Laxus nodded, a sad smile lifting one corner of his lips. "I get it now," he said, "Why Gramps calls everyone in the guild his brats. The guild's always been my family, but being the guild master means I'm more than just a brother to people. I don't give a shit if Cobra's older than me, he's like a son. Just like all of you. And when I heard him so sad like that, I knew I had to find a way to help him. I'm not trying to push anything on you as far as your relationship is concerned, but being able to give him something he wants so badly… the  _choice_  to have a family and make it happen…"

She watched as he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair again. Everyone had really grown up in the last few years, Laxus especially. She could still remember so clearly when he was just Makarov's arrogant asshole of a grandson. And here he was, taking care of everyone in the guild the best he could. "You really are a great guild master," she said with a small smile.

"Eh, I get by," he chuckled, sobering a moment later. "I wish I had better news though. If it's alright, I can keep looking around for other options for him."

"If you really want to," she shrugged. "I think Cobra's just at the point where he's accepted it. It hurts him, but he's been looking for twenty years. And without removing the lacrima, there's nothing he can do about it." She'd made the mistake of asking why he didn't just have the lacrima removed in the first place. Cobra hadn't been too happy to explain that it had fused with his body and trying to remove it at this point would most likely kill him.

And she definitely didn't want that.

"Have you guys thought about adopting?"

"Laxus," Lucy laughed. "We're nowhere near that talk. We haven't even had sex."

"How long have you guys been together?" he asked, staring with wide, disbelieving eyes. He knew for a fact that Lucy had just finished moving her things into Cobra's apartment. Had they really done that without having sex first? Was that even possible?

"Uh, about three years, I think," she said.

"And you still haven't had sex."

"... No?"

Laxus shook his head in bewilderment as Lucy cleared her throat and stood from her seat. "Wow…"

Lucy rolled her eyes and leaned forward to pat his hand where it rested on the desk. "Thanks for checking into that, Master," she said, drawing his attention once again. "Cobra wanted kids, but it's just not in the cards for us." She smiled when his hand turned and gently clasped hers for only a moment, just long enough for her to feel his warmth and understanding, then Lucy made her way across the office.

She paused at the door and looked back over her shoulder. "Laxus, please don't tell anyone about it. I can understand Porlyusica for a medical opinion, but you know Cobra's a private person."

"Don't worry, Lucy," he said, "His secret's safe with me."

She nodded and made her way out of the room, barely catching his whisper of,  _"Three years and still no sex… Jesus…"_

And once Lucy was back downstairs, she squawked when Cobra ran over to her and clamped a hand around her arm, then started dragging her toward the guild doors. "C-Cobra, what's-"

"She's having the baby," he said with a grin over his shoulder. He kept pulling her along until Lucy pried herself from his overly excited grip. "Sorry… Macbeth called. Sorano's having the baby."

"She's not due for another week!"

"I know, but it's happening," Cobra shrugged. He pushed open the doors to the guild. "But we need to catch a train and get our asses out there, because I wanna be there when my niece comes."

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned toward the bar. "Mira, tell Natsu I can't make the job today. Sorano's having her baby!"

The barmaid shrieked with glee, instantly commandeering Gajeel and Pantherlily to take Lucy's place on the mission with Natsu. Lucy turned just as Cobra scooped her up onto his back and dashed out of the guild, laughing the whole while.

He suffered through the train ride toward Sabertooth with his head in her lap, scrambled from the cabin as soon as they'd stopped, and then they were off to the hospital just down the road from their fellow guild. Lucy definitely hadn't known what to expect, but the Poison Slayer refused to be slowed down once he heard Sorano's soul and instead she was hoisted onto his back once again. When orderlies tried to say he couldn't just barge in, Cobra nearly poisoned the whole staff. At least, until Macbeth came out of a nearby room from all the commotion and let them know that Cobra and Lucy were family and Sorano was asking for them.

By the time they'd made it into the room, Sorano was pushing, sweating, and Macbeth rushed back to her side to hold her hand and let her squeeze. Cobra set Lucy down and took Sorano's other hand, and Lucy was pulled forward by a nurse and told to hold one of Sorano's legs up.

And nearly twenty minutes later, Lucy and Cobra watched as Macbeth cut the umbilical cord and the newborn girl was cleaned off, then set in his arms. Lucy moved to Cobra's side as he smoothed a hand over Sorano's sweaty hair, tucking herself into him. They were silent when Macbeth finally laid the little girl in Sorano's arms, simply watching as both former criminals gazed lovingly at their daughter.

"What's her name?" Cobra finally whispered. He pulled Lucy closer and buried his nose in her hair while looking at the red-faced infant all bundled up in a pink blanket.

Macbeth's lips parted, then he stopped when Sorano glared at him - though the usual heat was missing from her gaze right then. "We're not naming her Juniper, Macbeth."

The mages laughed quietly, simply watching her tiny fists shift to peek out of the blanket and how she curled closer to Sorano's voice.

"Her name is Cassie," she finally whispered, looking up into Cobra's teary eye. "What do you think of your niece, Erik?"

"She's fucking perfect."

* * *

A month after Cassie's birth, Lucy came home to a darkened apartment. That, in itself, wasn't odd since Cobra had been on a job for the past two weeks, but she'd been hoping that he would have come home by now. Of course, he was doing some undercover job where he couldn't use his lacrima, but she had gotten a dated letter from him three days prior that had at least put her at ease.

" _Still alive. Miss you. -E"_

She definitely appreciated it, even though it was short. And the fact that he'd signed it with his actual initial, rather than the name he still went by, let her know it really was Cobra. He'd promised to write her when he had the time so she wouldn't worry, and that had been the one piece of information he'd been adamant about her remembering. If she got a letter from him that wasn't signed with his real name, she was to go to the guild and get Laxus as soon as possible.

She was more than happy that his cover hadn't been blown as of three days ago.

Lucy silently closed the door and locked it, dropping her keys in the little bowl by the door. She flicked the switch, frowning when none of the lights in the living room came on. She could hear the air conditioner and refrigerator running, so she knew it wasn't a blackout.

Lucy flicked the switch a couple more times, the hair on the back of her neck rising when nothing happened. There was no pop from the electrical box in the laundry to let her know it was just a fuse. The apartment was silent.

Maybe she was just being paranoid, but Lucy had gone several years now without being captured or used in some plot because she'd been on her A-game. She kept an eye out for dangerous situations, much like this one, and tended to run far the hell away from them. Except, this was her home with Cobra. The safest place she could be. Mainly when he was home. Okay,  _always_  when he was home.

Biting her lip, Lucy took a slow step forward, then another. If she could just get to the bookshelf, then she could find the little booklight they used at night when they read to each other. And that would make it so she could get a few candles - or every candle in the fucking apartment - and light them. All of them.

Cobra couldn't get home fast enough, that was for damn sure.

The smallest sliver of light came from the window straight ahead on the far side of the apartment. She could have sworn she'd closed the drapes all the way that morning when she'd left to go to the guild. She froze as soon as her boot hit the couch, going still and listening for anything other than the hum of appliances or her quickened breath.

She could swear she heard the floor creak when her foot lifted to take another step. Lucy froze again when several quiet pops sounded off to her right, almost like her knees when she'd been crouching for too long and finally stood up. A shuffle of fabric followed and she tried to slow her racing heart.

Maybe she was just imagining things though. Her imagination was getting the best of her once again. Cobra tended to tease her about how her mind ran wild on occasion.

A soft hiss barely accompanied a low, gritty laugh from just beside her, and Lucy whirled in place with a terrified shriek just as something bright green flew toward her. This was it. She was going to be killed in her apartment.

Except then it all stopped. And she was cold, and just a little on the wet side. Whatever had hit her tangled in her hair and slowly peeled from her face in a stringy mess.

Suddenly, purple light filled the room - a black light, was more accurate - and Lucy was left staring at the glowing white teeth and single eye of Cobra. Holding up a can of silly string.

"I didn't expect you to scream like that." His smile faded when her bag dropped to the floor and he closed the distance between them when Lucy stayed silent, when he could hear her breath stuttering in her chest. "Lucy, hey, it's okay…"

"Y-You…"

Cobra sighed while pulling her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and nestling his nose in her hair. "It's just me," he whispered. "I wasn't trying to make you - Oof!" He nearly stumbled when her first connected with his stomach.

"You dick!" Lucy shouted. "I thought you were gonna kill me!" Still, she latched onto him in a crushing hug, soaking up the warmth he always radiated and pulling in deep, shaky breaths full of his scent.

"Okay," he chuckled, "I'm sorry."

"What are you doing with silly string and a black light?"

"Well, I thought…" He paused and turned so she could see the rest of the apartment from where she was curled into his chest. "We could have a little war."

Lucy gaped at the sight of their coffee table filled from end to end with cans of silly string, the caps glowing in bright neon pinks and greens and blues. She looked around the apartment, catching several more cans that glowed from different places. The bookshelf, the dining table, window seat. Nearly every surface had at least one can. "Wh-What did you  _do_?" she giggled.

"Bought some silly string so I could cover you head to toe with it."

"Yeah, right," she smirked. Lucy pulled back slowly and kicked off her boots. She reached down and grabbed two cans, popping the lids off and shaking them. "You're going down, Cobra."

"Am I?" he smirked. Their hands raised at the same time, shooting out streams of pink and green at one another. Lucy howled as the chilly string trailed across her bare stomach and when she turned to run around the table, Cobra lifted another can and prepared it.

He hadn't been expecting Lucy to jump at him and stick the fucking can down his shirt, sending silly string slithering over his back. Cobra didn't even mind that he yelped. Especially since he was able to get payback a moment later when both of her cans had run out.

They ran from one side of the apartment to the other, sometimes hiding behind furniture to "surprise" their opponent, picking up more cans on the way. Other times they charged right for each other, smiling and yelling about their impending victory. It definitely wasn't easy to hide when the blacklight made the silly string still clinging to their bodies and hair glow. And, as Lucy came to find out when Cobra pulled his shirt off and brushed away the string still clinging to him, the little wet trails left behind also glowed.

Cobra laughed when Lucy pinned him to a wall, ignoring the picture frame that fell to the floor at the desirous look in her eyes.

He might have considered that she was planning something, like shoving the can down his pants and freezing his dick off with it. Except then her hands lifted, empty, and brushed along his ears before sinking into his hair and pulling him down into a melting kiss that had him dropping the can he'd been holding.

' _So happy he's safe… I was so worried… But he's home now…'_

"I missed you so much," he whispered between kisses.

' _Mm, Cobra I want you…'_

He growled against her lips as his tongue curled around hers, drawing her closer. He grasped her thighs as she jumped, wrapping them around his hips and spinning so she was sandwiched between himself and the wall. He'd missed her warmth, the gentle thrum of her soul as they laid together. He'd definitely missed the feeling of her holding him close and her lips trailing over his cheeks and jaw on long nights when sleep just wouldn't come.

' _Take me to the bed…'_

A quick flash of an image - their naked bodies writhing on the sheets and joined, Lucy moaning his name and clutching herself to him - crashed through the blonde's soul with more force than just a little fantasy. She ached for him just as desperately. And even though Cobra had wanted their first time together to be a little more relaxed, with him slowly working her into a state of bliss, he couldn't deny his need to feel her around him in some way, to assure himself that he really had come home to the blonde and it wasn't all just some dream he'd wake up from.

Lucy moaned as Cobra's hips rolled into her, the friction sending her mind spinning. Her fingers clutched to his bare shoulders desperately, mapping out every tightening muscle as he massaged her thighs. He pulled back from the wall and she clutched herself to him, kissing across his jaw and locking her lips on his earring.

"Fuck…" Cobra nearly dropped her to the floor and took her right fucking  _there_  when Lucy's teeth grazed the tip of his ear.

"Yes, please," she giggled, breathless. Lucy moaned as her lips were claimed once again, with more force than Cobra normally used, as he carried her to the bedroom. The room was pitch black though, and she found herself laughing when he dropped her to the bed. "And before you ask… Yes, I'm sure… I'm more than ready."

His eye flashed with excitement, sending her heart pounding and heat pooling low in her belly. And when his nostrils flared, she just knew he was breathing in the scent of her arousal.

"Alright, but… We're missing something," he smirked. Cobra rushed out of the room and unplugged the blacklight - he'd have to remember to put the bulbs back into all the lamps later on - then took it to the bedroom. Once it was plugged in, he grinned at the laughing blonde, his fingers toying with the button on his pants. "Now, where were we?"

Lucy squealed as Cobra pounced, tackling her to the bed and covering her lips with his.

* * *

One of Lucy's favorite pastimes as the months progressed was watching Cobra play with Cassie. Once the little white-haired girl was in his arms, the ornery (to everyone else) Poison Slayer turned to mush.

"And when you're older, I'll show you how to poison Daddy just enough to make him  _wish_  he was dead," Cobra crooned, smiling down at the four-month-old.

"Please don't," Macbeth sighed, resting his head on his arms and not looking at anything aside from the backs of his closed eyelids.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't complete mush. He was still Cobra, after all, but Lucy found his  _mommy-voice_ just so fucking cute that she could nearly feel her ovaries sighing.

"That's quite the mental picture," Cobra chuckled, glancing at the blonde beside him.

"Not my fault you're making me drop eggs," Lucy giggled. They'd come to realize, only after he and Lucy had visited the exhausted new parents, that making jokes about having children seemed to ease Cobra. It was his defense mechanism, and always had been. And Lucy understood that. She really didn't mind that they'd never have kids, but knowing that it was a sore spot for him, she tried not to talk about it (even as a joke) unless he brought it up first - errant thoughts in her soul, notwithstanding.

"Oh, when are you two going to have some babies?" Mira sighed, leaning on the bar and watching as Cassie's little fingers curled around Cobra's lower lip, then pulled. And all he did was smile down at the little girl as though it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

"Never," Cobra said.

"Come on," Mira laughed, turning toward Lucy. "Lucy, you see it, right? Cobra's a natural."

"Sure he is," Lucy nodded. She couldn't stop from smiling when he lifted Cassie and took an exaggerated breath, then blew raspberries on her little belly, pulling shrill, gargling giggles from the infant. "But that doesn't mean we're having kids."

"But we need babies to spoil in the guild," Mira pouted. "Lisanna's pregnant and her baby will need someone to play with. It's like this whole generation is sterile!"

"I can say from experience," Sorano yawned, "Being pregnant sucked ass. I miss sleep."

Mira shook her head, blinking in surprise when Cassie spit up and the Poison Slayer didn't miss a beat in cleaning up her little chin and pulling her to his chest, rubbing gentle circles on her back. "Cobra, you'd be such a great dad, though," she said. "And just picture it… You and Lucy would have the cutest little-"

"Fuck off, Mira," Cobra cooed, not looking away from Cassie's smiling face. And when she giggled again, her deep red eyes lighting up with joy, he brushed their noses together and said, "Oh, you're most definitely my favorite person right now."

Lucy bit her lip and glanced at Sorano, watching the Angel mage's eyes drift closed only to snap open once again, then to Cobra and the saddened gleam in his eye. The only people who noticed it were most likely her, Macbeth, and Sorano. No one else was really close enough to him to pick up on things like that. Then again, the new parents were both so exhausted they probably hadn't seen it either.

Before Mira could say anything, Lucy placed a hand on Cobra's arm, drawing the smallest bit of his attention from the little girl. "Cobra, how about you take Sorano back to the apartment?" she whispered. "It's about time for Cassie's nap, I think."

"God, I could go for some sleep," Sorano sighed, looking at the clock. "And you're right, Lucy. Cassie needs it or she'll be a cranky mess later."

"Just like her Daddy," Cobra chuckled. "What are we doing for dinner?"

"Well, it's your turn to cook," Lucy said. "You mentioned wanting to make that weird tofu pot roast for them to try."

"Ugh, not again," Sorano sighed while standing and slinging the overfull diaper bag over her shoulder. "We're not vegetarians… stop forcing it on us!"

"Lucy puts bacon on hers," he chuckled. "I can cook up the bacon and you can try it that way."

"It makes it bearable," the blonde shrugged. She leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then another to Cassie's head, just before he walked off with Sorano. "I'll bring Macbeth home in an hour or so. He'll most likely just sleep here anyway."

Cobra nodded, still distracted by Cassie's smiling face. Just before he was out of the guild, Lucy heard him laugh and say, "You can't poke my eye out if it's not there… No, that doesn't mean go for the other one."

Mira sighed and wiped down the bar as the door closed behind Sorano. Lucy hit her leg against Macbeth's, silently asking for his advice when he looked at her. Honestly, she hadn't a clue what to do about it, but she was sure the questions would never stop from Mira. And while Lucy didn't mind repeating herself, she knew that Cobra would start getting irritated by it. But this wasn't her secret to tell, and it wasn't like Mira was really entitled to know in the first place. It wasn't any of her business. Not that the barmaid saw it that way.

With a heavy sigh, the Reflector mage sat up, drawing Mira's attention. "Mira," he yawned, "Brain forced Cobra to get a vasectomy when he was a teenager. He can't have kids." He blinked slowly when Mira went still along with several nearby Fairy Tail mages. As far as he was concerned, Cobra could be mad at him for telling someone, rather than getting upset with Lucy. She was the reason he and Sorano had been able to get away from Sabertooth for a little bit, having called and said they were invited over for the weekend so they could get some much needed sleep while she and Cobra took care of Cassie. No way was he going to let the blonde shoulder Cobra's anger, if he could help it.

"He… what?" Mira whispered.

Macbeth nodded, taking a sip of Lucy's water. "So, please… for his sake… don't ask him things like that. He wanted kids more than any of us. And unlike me, he can't just go to a doctor and have it undone."

Mira turned back to Lucy, her eyes wide and filling with remorseful tears. "Lucy, I'm so sorry," she said quickly. "I..."

"It's okay, Mira," she sighed. "You didn't know."

"You already knew?"

"Yeah, we talked about it," Lucy said. "It really does upset him though, even now."

"W-Well, I mean… what about you?" Mira winced. "Don't you want kids one day?"

The blonde simply smiled while looking down at her glass. Oh, she'd thought about what it would be like to have a baby with Cobra more than once, though she tried not to do it while he was around to hear it. And yes, it would have been wonderful if they could have had a family together, a little piece of both of them.

Finally, she looked back to Mira. "If I have to choose between having a baby and being with Cobra," she said softly, "I'll choose him. Every time."

* * *

Lucy really didn't mind that Cobra turned her into a human pretzel while the headboard slammed into their wall. She preferred it, actually. Just like she'd come to realize that hearing his voice rumbling in her ear about just how good she felt or how hard he was going to fuck her just before he did it, sounding so breathless and desperate for his release, was actually quite the turn-on.

Her favorite part of sleeping with him, however, wasn't the sex. Oh, that was more than enjoyable, and she loved that he made a point of giving her earth-shattering  _bite the pillow so you don't wake the neighbors_  orgasms every time they did it. But Lucy knew that she would always love how he held her afterwards so much more, much like he was right then.

She didn't care that his full weight rested on her sweaty body, pushing her into the mattress, or that his short, huffing breaths against the side of her face made it a little harder for her to pull in precious air. He was past the point of twitching hips and broken rasps of her name while his release pumped out of him. They were left in the heady aftermath, and his arms had pushed under her to hold her just a little closer so that even their uneven breaths didn't leave space between them. And she loved it. She loved that he latched onto her and didn't want to let her go. That he hummed with contentment while kissing her cheek and whispered, "So perfect," before carefully withdrawing his spent member from her. He rolled off of her and Lucy easily followed, curling into his chest and smiling as his arms wound around her once more.

She never would have considered that Cobra would be a cuddler after sex. But Lucy had learned firsthand that he was. And that she was the only person he'd ever been with who he was comfortable enough to hold after they were done. It was more than being comfortable though, she already knew. Something they never said but both understood.

She was the first person he'd ever really fallen for, the first person he knew wouldn't judge him for his desires - one that included some of the best cuddling in the world, in her opinion.

Lucy hummed as Cobra gently massaged her back, pressing a soft kiss to his sweat-slicked chest. She loved even more that he would rub her back when he'd been particularly adventurous in testing her flexibility.

"You have no idea how much I enjoy bending you like that," he chuckled against her hair.

"Mm, you can bend me however you want," she hummed.

"As long as you get off and get back rubs."

"And cuddles. They're a requirement." When he laughed again, her eyes slid open toward the end table on his side of the bed. It was too bad she couldn't reach the candy bowl. She wanted some taffy, and if she stretched out her arm then he'd stop rubbing her.

"You're hopeless," Cobra grinned. He reached back toward the bowl and grabbed a taffy, then unwrapped it and put the candy between his teeth. "Share."

Lucy let out a quiet laugh while bringing her lips to his, biting into the candy and letting her lips linger against his while she started to chew. "You like candy after sex just as much," she whispered against his smiling lips.

"Because I'm a sugar addict," he grinned.

"Just a sugar addict?"

"Hell no." Cobra massaged her back again, smiling when Lucy melted against him. "I like you a whole lot more than sugar." He felt her smile while her arm wrapped around him, her fingers gently smoothing over his hip. "Merry Christmas, Lucy."

* * *

"I'm pregnant."

Cobra stared. He really didn't know what else to do, because she was smiling and holding his hands and her soul was singing, and he was positive he had to be dreaming. Because there was no way Lucy could be pregnant. It was impossible, literally. "You… what?"

She nodded, biting her lip excitedly when he just kept staring. "Also, welcome home, but I had to tell you!"

He hadn't made even made it to the center of the guild before she'd run over to him from the bar and told him… that. Seriously, this had to be a dream. It had happened before. But when he listened to her soul, he heard the story.

She'd missed her period last month, when he'd left for the mission he was only just coming back from, and had waited for the next to come along, or for him to get back home. When neither happened, Lucy went right to her doctor and got tested. And sure enough, there was a baby in her. Just a tiny little cluster of cells already growing and evolving into what would one day be  _their_  baby.

"Y-You're…"

She hadn't been able to stop herself from blurting it out as soon as she'd seen him, before even his magic could pick it up. But he heard it in her soul. All of it. And when Cobra remembered that he could never hear souls in his dreams (they were called  _dreams_  for a reason), his gaze lowered from Lucy's bright smile and teary eyes to her flat stomach.

When he listened closer, he could her just the faintest trill that didn't belong to the blonde. It wasn't much, just a soft sound somewhere between a purr and a hum.

They hadn't seen the point in using condoms, since Cobra knew he couldn't get her pregnant. And while there was a small, dark kernel of doubt in him that this couldn't possibly be  _his_ baby, Cobra knew the truth. He could feel it in her trembling hands, heard the giddiness in her soul that this was what he'd always wanted and she could be the one to give it to him. Cobra knew better than to question Lucy's loyalty, so he didn't.

"I'm pregnant," she sniffled.

"You're r-really…" The little, trilling soul grew louder as he fell to his knees in front of her. He didn't care about the tears that had been blurring his vision careening down his cheek when his fingers brushed across her exposed navel. And he didn't care that everyone in the guild was watching as he let out a hiccupping sob and wound his arms around her.

Lucy brushed her fingers through Cobra's hair when he started peppering her stomach with soft kisses, using her other hand to swipe at her own tears.

They wouldn't find out until later that week - when Lucy went to her first obstetrician appointment with Cobra gladly in tow to get a sonogram of their adorable little baby - that it was entirely possible, and extremely rare, for a vasectomy to reverse itself. It would be another month before Cobra went to a doctor himself and had it verified that it had, in fact, reversed all on its own and that his sperm count was lower than normal for a man his age, but that it was to be expected due to his circumstances.

But while he knelt on the ground in the middle of Fairy Tail, he didn't pay attention to the shocked souls of their guildmates at seeing him blubbering like a bitch over the news. He didn't hear Sorano and Macbeth shushing the 18-month-old Cassie when she tried to pry herself from them to come greet her uncle.

All he could hear was Lucy's soul, and the soul of their baby, singing in beautiful harmony with one another. It was his dream, finally come true.

Cobra didn't care who saw or heard him like this. His pride could suck a throbbing vulcan dick. His eye lifted to look at her tear-stained cheeks, pulled into a wobbling, giddy smile. "L-Lucy…" How was he supposed to tell her just what this meant to him? That she was so happy to be sharing this with him, shook Cobra to his core.

So, he said the only thing that came to mind. For the first time in his life, Cobra said, "I love you."

_**.The End.** _


End file.
